Team Info: Aus – Lee for Johnson (rested), James Hopes for Clarke (rested). Eng – Swann for Rashid, Anderson for Broad (knee niggles)
Scoreline: (Toss – Aus) Aus 296/8: Tim Paine 111 (148), Hussey 65 (69), James Hopes 38 (22), White 35 (23)
England 185 all out – Hopes 3 wickets
Tim Paine all series has looked boring with the intermittent good shot that made you sit up and wonder – what a strange character. There are players like Ian Bell, who might have a poor strike rate and still look interesting. Paine obviously doesn’t fit in this category cos he almost retreats into himself after pulling out a super shot. While his keeping is definitely better than Haddin (who has been on the improve), even with this hundred, it doesn’t seem likely that he would take over from Haddin (when back fit) at the top – simply because his (current) game while good in setting a total, might come unstuck in a run-chase. So, interesting selectorial decisions ahead for Australia – it’s been a while since they had that luxury.
England must be wondering why they signed up for a 7 match series. Bopara during his short stint with Mohali in the IPL proved he can be a clean hitter – he might as well try that, cos his current role’s just not working.
Preplay: The series is currently 5-0 to Australia and is reminiscent of the 5-0 loss to India in 2008. Wright remains unsure for England, but at least their batting was better in the 5th ODI despite the loss.
