England avoid Australia ODI whitewash
ENGLAND captain Andrew Strauss has urged his side to change their attitude and play without fear in the forthcoming ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa, despite dodging a series whitewash against Australia.
Graeme Swann starred with a five-wicket haul as England limped to a four-wicket win at the Riverside that was sufficient to avoid a 7-0 defeat in the one-day series.
England play their first Champions Trophy game in South Africa on Friday and Strauss warned his players a fearless mentality must be adopted if they are to make any impression at the tournament.
“I do like the talent we have in our side, but we need to show that and play without fear,” he said. “Conditions will be different in South Africa and we need to adapt. We’re playing teams other than Australia, which will hopefully freshen things up. As I see it, we haven’t got too much to lose.” Swann produced a man-of-the-match display, taking 5-28 as Australia were dismissed for a lowly 176. England made a meal of their chase, collapsing from 106-0 to 151-5 before Paul Collingwood and Tim Bresnan saw them over the line.
After winning the toss, Strauss elected to field amid favourable bowling conditions and his bowlers stood up and responded for arguably the first time in the series. James Anderson and Graham Onions dispatched the openers, and despite the in-form pair of Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke threatening to cut loose, once Swann had Ponting caught for 53, a seven-wicket collapse ensued for only 80 runs.
England’s opening batsman began cautiously but Strauss, in the middle of a purple patch, soon pounced on anything short to move the scoreboard along. Strauss was ousted by Nathan Hauritz for 47 while Joe Denly struck a patient 53. Denly’s demise sparked a wobble as two wickets then fell in three balls but Collingwood and Bresnan secured the win with 10 overs to spare.