Alex Carey and Mitchell Starc leave sloppy England on brink of series defeat

If this ODI seemed a match too far, in a series too many, a month too late, then no one told the Headingley faithful on Saturday morning. They squashed on to trains to Burley Park and into the ungainly stands, a sell-out crowd roasting in the unexpected September heat on the Western Terrace’s open seats. They were in enthusiastic voice too – at least for the first few hours until the game swung.

With gallows enthusiasm, most stayed for England’s innings, a start-stop affair in light that faded alongside their chances, as Harry Brook’s inexperienced 50-over side were walloped by 68 runs. Australia reaped the reward of Glenn Maxwell, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc’s return to go 2-0 up in the five-match series.

England had looked in with a good shot at the halfway stage after they dismissed Australia within 45 overs, despite an excellent 74 from Alex Carey at more than a run a ball, in an enterprising last-wicket partnership of 49 with Hazlewood.

But England’s reply was a high stakes affair. Phil Salt’s short but eventful innings included three flamed fours, a survived review off Hazlewood, a drop at slip by a lunging Matt Short, before coming to a close as he kissed an edge off Hazlewood to Carey. Two runs later, Will Jacks too was on his way, snaffled at slip first ball.

Brook was off the mark through midwicket with a typically sharp clip to the rope from Starc, to roared appreciation for the local lad, but he was done soon after by one that swung in and thudded into back pad and almost toppled him. When Ben Duckett, who had been tacking along nicely in boundaries, including an audacious scoop over the keeper, was flummoxed by a slower ball from Aaron Hardie, who leapt to his left in his follow-through to pick up a toe-ended pull like a parent stretching to scoop up a toddler’s beaker, and Liam Livingstone was caught by a diving Carey with a legside flick that he’d like to forget first ball, England were 65 for five in the tenth over.

But Jamie Smith wasn’t ready to throw in the towel, looking as at home in ODI cricket as he has in Tests all summer. He’d got going with three fours, a dreamy cover drive, a screamer that whistled down the ground followed by a flying flick through midwicket.

But he was also measured, mixing watchful singles with blazing boundaries. He and Jacob Bethell, who had safely seen off a hat-trick ball from Hardie, and who again impressed with his stroke making, put on a careful 55. But when Bethell was caught for 25, Smith was becalmed batting with the enterprising Brydon Carse and eventually had to slope off, caught at midwicket for 49. Adil Rashid, promoted up the order, was off the mark with a boundary, but as the floodlights flickered on at quarter to six, and the seats started to empty, the game was up.

Brook was phlegmatic afterwards, “We’re an inexperienced team playing against one of the best sides in the world – it’s about patience, we’re only two games in.

“Obviously we lost early wickets in the powerplay and that killed us. We took some positive options to put the pressure on but it didn’t come off.”

It had all looked so different when England won the toss in morning sunshine and chose to field, Olly Stone replacing the rested Jofra Archer. After a couple of watchful overs, Travis Head looked to repeat his trick of the first ODI, to blast England over the rope and into the hills, and was matched almost stroke for stroke by his opening partner Short. Carse came in for a particular hammering – until Head jiffied him off his hips into the hands of Stone on the rope, for 29. Short was nicely caught behind off Matthew Potts, but Mitchell Marsh joined in the heavy-lifting with 60 as Steve Smith, bowled shaping to drive one that nipped back, and Marnus Labuschagne fell cheaply. On a pitch that gripped, Maxwell was the excellent Rashid’s 200th ODI wicket – the third England man after Jimmy Anderson and Darren Gough to reach that mark.

Carey looked as if he was going to run out of partners when Hardie and Starc fell in successive balls from Carse, and Adam Zampa was caught at backward point as the scoreboard read 221 for nine. But, in his first innings since March, Carey eked out every last run alongside Hazlewood, making a chaseable score too good.

“Not much has to change for everything to change” Carey said afterwards. “They [England] are still a highly skilled bunch of players, but that’s one-day cricket, your momentum is key, at the moment we’ve got the momentum.”

England will have that ringing in their ears at Chester-le-Street on Tuesday.