ADELAIDE (The Thursday Times) — Tom Banton hit 121 and Gus Atkinson took a career-best four for 28 as England beat Australia by 135 runs in the second one-day international at Adelaide Oval on Sunday, levelling the three-match series at 1-1.
Put in to bat, England made 355 for six, their highest ODI total in Australia, and bowled the hosts out for 220 in 44.3 overs. The series now goes to a decider in Hobart on Wednesday.
Banton and Root set the base
England had been bowled out for 131 in Perth two days earlier, and the early signs were uncertain when Ben Duckett slashed to point for nine. Banton, opening in place of the injured Jacob Bethell, was hit on the helmet by Spencer Johnson on 10 but recovered to score 121 from 99 balls, with four sixes, using Adelaide’s short square boundaries for a string of pulls.
He and Joe Root added 137 before Root fell for 62. Captain Harry Brook was bowled for five trying to ramp Riley Meredith, but Jordan Cox made 67 from 49 balls, including a reverse-scooped four, and Will Jacks finished on 54 not out from 40. Cox and Jacks put on 102 in 70 balls, and England took 110 runs off the last 10 overs.
Banton now has four fifties and two hundreds in nine innings since his recall. “To perform here today is a pretty special feeling,” he said, adding that it was “pretty cool” to watch Root at the other end.
Atkinson leads the new-ball burst
Sonny Baker, brought in for Jamie Overton, dismissed Australia captain Mitchell Marsh for two, caught at slip by a diving Root. Atkinson then removed Travis Head for seven and had Cooper Connolly and Josh Inglis caught behind, leaving Australia 29 for four inside seven overs.
Matt Renshaw made 63 and Cameron Green 64, and the pair added 98, helped by dropped catches from England’s fielders. Liam Dawson ended the stand by trapping Renshaw lbw and finished with two for 41. Sam Curran bowled Jack Edwards with a slower ball and then dismissed Xavier Bartlett first ball, before Green was stumped after the ball deflected off Cox’s shin.
The win ended a seven-match losing run against Australia across formats in Adelaide and followed heavy defeats in the preceding weeks to Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Australia. The match was played on the day Chadd Sayers gave his own account of events in South Africa eight years ago; we reported his claims earlier today.
