England beat Australia by two runs in thrilling Twenty20 clash
Match went down to the final ball as Aussies fell short in their chase
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.England beat rivals Australia by two runs in a Twenty20 thriller that went down to the final ball to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series on Friday.
Chasing 163 to win at the empty Rose Bowl, Australia collapsed from 124-1 after 14 overs to fall short on 160-6 in their first international cricket match in six months.
After losing four wickets for nine runs off 14 balls, the Australians needed 26 runs off the final three overs, 19 off the final two and then 15 off the last, bowled by Tom Curran.
Marcus Stoinis hit a six off the second ball to leave the tourists needing nine runs off four, but couldn’t hit another boundary.
Australia were handed a brilliant start to the chase as Aaron Finch (46) and David Warner (58) shared a 98-run opening stand. Things started going downhill, though, after the loss of Steve Smith for 18 to make it 124-2 and Glenn Maxwell four balls later for 1, both falling to Adil Rashid.
England eked out a total of 162-7 mainly thanks to Dawid Malan (66) and Jos Buttler (44). No other player reached double-figures, with Kane Richardson having figures of 2-13 and Maxwell getting 2-14.
The top-ranked Australians hadn’t played since mid-March when their scheduled ODI series against New Zealand was abandoned due to the coronavirus pandemic.
England can wrap up the series by winning the second match back at the Rose Bowl on Sunday.
AP
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments