England come off poor second-best to Australia bringing curtain down on ODI series in Melbourne

The timing of this series so soon after England’s T20 World Cup triumph was labelled “horrible” by Moeen Ali and the significance or lack thereof of this dead rubber was amplified by a sparsely-populated MCG.

At a ground that has a 100,000-capacity, only 10,406 fans turned up, setting a new record low at the venue for a men’s ODI involving Australia, who nevertheless gave those who attended reason for cheer.

On a cold, gloomy day, Travis Head thumped 152 off 130 balls and David Warner 106 off 102 deliveries in a boundary-heavy 269-run opening stand in 38.1 overs, underpinning Australia’s 355-5.

Set an adjusted Duckworth-Lewis-Stern target of 364 after rain reduced the third and final ODI to 48 overs per side, England capitulated to 142 all out in 31.4 overs to lose by a record 221 runs.

There was an end-of-term feeling to England’s display, with the tourists seeming lethargic after a hectic past couple of months for many in the squad, and Jos Buttler acknowledged they were subpar.

“We tried our best but we fell a long way short – Australia played really well,” said Buttler at the presentation ceremony on a ground where England won the T20 World Cup nine days earlier.

“But there’s lots to be proud of, you don’t need long memories to remember the scenes here last week.”

England were on 57-1 in the 13th over but the downfall of Jason Roy, who top-scored with 33 off 48 balls, saw the tourists lurch to 95-7, ultimately ending any hope of overhauling the target.

Adam Zampa took 4-31 in 5.4 overs while there were two wickets apiece for Pat Cummins and Sean Abbott and one each for Josh Hazlewood and Mitch Marsh, who earlier made a cameo of 30 off 16 balls.

He was given licence to tee off after the efforts of Head and Warner – who recorded his first three-figure score in any international format since January 2020 as he went past 6,000 ODI runs.

Both openers were removed within four balls of each other by Olly Stone, who came back from leaking 65 in his first seven overs to finish with a creditable 4-85.

“I didn’t start great, a few pies in there which wasn’t ideal and didn’t set the tone,” said the fast bowler. “When you’re off at this level you get punished and it makes you learn quickly.

“I thought it was nice the way I came back and I enjoy bowling in those high-pressure situations at the end, it was nice to pick up four wickets and claw it back.”

Stone admitted it would be “wonderful” to be selected for England’s defence of their 50-over World Cup in India next year after his second ODI appearance in four years – he played in the series opener too.

But Stone, whose career progression has been disrupted by several injuries, believes he has gained some insight after a tricky few days for England.

“It’s a big learning curve for me,” he added. “It’s frustrating because I want to do as well as I can but it’s definitely something that I can learn from and hopefully take forward.

“The series hasn’t gone the way we’d like it to and the boys obviously attacked it as hard as we could but it wasn’t quite good enough.”

Australia captain Cummins was thrilled his side finished the series with a flourish.

“It’s been fantastic, all three games,” he said. “Everything has really clicked, the bowlers have all wanted to bowl and the batters have been fantastic.

“It’s good to finish it off here, that’s just about the best ODI I’ve been a part of.”

Liam Livingstone has pulled out of a stint with Melbourne Renegades, who in August selected the England all-rounder in the Big Bash League’s inaugural overseas draft.

It was anticipated the 29-year-old Cumbrian, part of the England side that won the T20 World Cup in Australia earlier this month, would be available for the first eight matches of this season’s BBL.

After being signed up by the Renegades, he was a surprise call-up for England’s Test tour of Pakistan and has now decided to withdraw from this winter’s BBL altogether due to his increased workload.

“We’re obviously disappointed that we won’t have Liam as part of our team this summer, but we understand his decision,” said James Rosengarten, the franchise’s general manager.

“Liam is a fantastic cricketer and there’s a reason we used our first pick in the draft to select him.

“Since then, his schedule has changed with added international duties and we wish him the best as he pushes for a Test debut.

“We know Liam had been looking forward to working with our head coach, David Saker, and playing for our club. Hopefully, we can make that happen in the coming seasons.

“We have been in regular communication with Liam and his management over the last couple of months, which has allowed us to execute a plan that is best for the Renegades for this season.”