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An Australian wicketkeeper in the grip of a storm and Public Enemy No. 1 at Lord’s? This is not the first time we have heard this story in recent times.
The crucial point, which overshadowed England’s 186-run win in the series decider in Bristol on Saturday, left the Lord’s crowd free from the deep freeze on a bitter afternoon and included Jonny Bairstow’s infamous defeat at the hands of Alex Carey. A glimpse was seen, which surprised the audience. The Ashes Test at the same ground last summer was spectacular.
This time Josh Inglis was wearing gloves. He claimed that he had hit the leg of Mitchell Starc to dismiss England captain Harry Brook, who was 17 at the time.
Only replays showed that the ball had clearly bounced before reaching Inglis’ gloves. Cue a wave of furious boos from the floor. Perhaps not as blatant as last summer, but a reminder that that episode still distresses and will not soon be forgotten.
Last summer, the crowd reaction ignited the Australians, leading to a decisive victory. However, it did not have the same impact on Friday night as England displayed brutal batting and superb fast bowling under floodlights.
England leveled the ODI series against Australia with an emphatic 186-run win at Lord’s.
Harry Brook was England’s top scorer at Lord’s with a score of 87 runs off just 58 balls.
Australian goalkeeper Josh Inglis (left) claimed to have made a clean catch of Brook in the 17th minute, before replays showed the ball had touched the ground first.
Ben Duckett also impressed when he scored a stylish half-century against Australia
Undeterred by the incident, Brook scored 87 runs in just 58 balls in a 75-run partnership with Jamie Smith to pave the way for England to win a match they needed to win to keep the series alive.
The 25-year-old led from the front in taking Australian spinner Adam Zampa to the cleaners on his return to the side after illness. Earlier, Ben Duckett had scored a brilliant and quick 63 runs at the top of the order.
But then, just as he looked to be on his way to a second consecutive century following his maiden ODI session in Durham earlier this week, Brook made his first and only mistake in the afternoon’s decision. He fed Zampa to Glenn Maxwell on the long-on boundary and when Smith followed an over later, it looked as if England’s innings was in danger.
Instead, Livingstone reacted by stepping on the gas. It was Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc who bore the brunt of the damage in the finale, leaving members and the general public scrambling for cover.
Wherever Starc bowled the ball, Livingstone had an answer. Also sympathetic. The 31-year-old conceded 28 runs four times in an over. In doing so, Livingstone completed his half-century off just 25 balls, breaking Jos Buttler’s decade-old record of the fastest ODI half-century at Lord’s.
His seven sixes were the most by an Englishman in an ODI at this ground, as he passed 300 and reached an impressive total of 312.
Australia responded by trying to fight the fire, but only got their fingers burnt.
Jofra Archer, playing his first game at this ground after leading England to the Super Cup in the 2019 World Cup, bowled at pace
With the departure of Steve Smith, Australia’s middle order started collapsing and he was out after scoring just five runs.
England’s Matthew Potts (right) performed brilliantly with the ball in hand and took four wickets.
Travis Head led the fightback on his return to the team, hitting a huge six off Brydon Carse which hit the roof of the Mound Stand before landing on nearby St John’s Wooden Street. But England’s bowlers created a ruckus after Carse counterattacked by evading Head’s defence.
The second and third wickets fell shortly afterwards when Matthew Potts, who took the best ODI innings of his career with four wickets for 38 runs, ended Steve Smith’s nervous and short-lived innings by being caught behind by Jamie Smith.
Jofra Archer, playing his first match at this ground after his stellar performance in helping England win the World Cup in 2019, bowled at pace and hit Mitchell Marsh’s stumps with a pitch hit before dismissing the dangerous Glenn Maxwell for just two runs. Dropped.
It was the responsibility of Adil Rashid to claim a comprehensive 186-run victory by bowling out Hazlewood in the series decider in Bristol on Sunday.
