Australia’s Extras Beat England’s A-Listers In Champions Trophy Win

In the most predictable white-ball breaking news, England has lost another match. Australia beat their oldest rivals by five wickets in their Champions Trophy group game at Lahore on Saturday. Both sides scored over 350, breaking the previous records for the highest team total in the tournament. It was an honorable loss for Jos Buttler’s team considering the recent showing in India, but that had little value in the white heat of battle.

England will leave the Gaddafi Stadium with more than a tinge of regret after posting a very defendable total. Anything was possible off the back of Ben Duckett’s superb 165 from 143 balls. The left-hander still scored freely but refused to perish prematurely like some of his colleagues.

Duckett batted deep and only fell to part-time leggie Marnus Labuschagne in the 48^th over when clearly exhausted. Yet the opener’s effort was overshadowed by a winning hand from Josh Inglis. The wicketkeeper’s undefeated 120 from 86 balls in the chase followed up his super century in Sri Lanka last month. Inglis is another golden nugget, designed and shaped in Leeds, but now a valuable Australian mineral.

Australia knows how to win cricket matches when they really count. As captain Steven Smith said pre-match, the Baggy Greens lost their first two World Cup matches in 2023 before winning the next eight to lift the trophy. In The Champions Trophy group stage, two losses are fatal.

England were motoring towards a potential total of 400 as Duckett and Joe Root rebuilt after Phil Salt and Jamie Smith played loose shots in unconvincing cameos. If ever the Three Lions had a chance to end a run of ten losses in 14 across the ODI format, Saturday was the day. Smith’s troops are missing three of their liquid fuel bowlers, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc.

Ben Dwarshuis, Spencer Johnson and Nathan Ellis have played only 17 ODIs between them. It’s still Australia though. Every time England looked to pull away, they were restrained by a clever mix of cutters, slower balls and superb fielding. Adam Zampa killed the momentum with dot balls. Jos Butter threatened to cut loose and was caught. Harry Brook continued his miserable Subcontinental slump. Liam Livingstone launched into the legside but was snaffled.

England were muted when they needed to make a monster last powerplay. Labuschagne bowled well and chased down the white ball like a heat-seeing missile. This was commitment and then some.

Brendon McCullum has been talking about England “bowling rockets” as if he were in charge of a Marvel production set with Quicksilver as his go-to guy. When Mark Wood reached 94mph, McCullum must have jumped out of his seat as his side tried to knock over the Aussie top order. Jofra Archer removed Travis Head and Wood caught the edge of Smith’s bat, but then Australia do what they always do. They got to work in the saggy middle of the three-and a half-hour plot.

Matt Short bashed 63 and Labuschagne’s 47 opened the gate to the Inglis and Alex Carey show. Their 146-run stand ensured that The Big Show, Glenn Maxwell could carve 32 off 15 balls to finish things off.

England have lost the happy knack of feeling on top of the world in any format. McCullum presided gloriously over the win column during the Bazball induction in Test match cricket, but his cool-hand Luke approach isn’t the best code to crack the ODI game. The Kiwi has taken on the dual Test and white-ball deal until 2027. Asking Buttler for a megawatt smile isn’t a guarantee of best practice.

“Ben Duckett played brilliantly. He’s been threatening to do that for a long time. I’m delighted for him but it’s a shame it was in a losing cause,” said Buttler. Does losing hurt enough? It’s become a regular pattern, a regular reaction, a robotic kind of probability.

England will need to beat Afghanistan and South Africa to progress from Group B into the semifinals. They were mauled by the Proteas in the World Cup and were spun into submission by Jonathan Trott’s Afghan team.

McCullum’s squad did manage to find a better rhythm to their batting in this match, but they couldn’t quite find top gear to get those extra 20 or 30 runs. It felt significant at the time and so it proved. Australia were short of their supermen bowlers and the muscular Mitch Marsh. Problems are only issues if replacements can’t shine. Inglis is no rough diamond either.

Winning is a habit even when the names change.