Tait Stars In All-Round Performance As Australia Win

Tait Finishes Off All-Round Performance As Australia Win

Australia's players celebrate in the background as Stuart Broad makes his way from the field

©Action Images / Steven Paston Livepic

Tait Finishes Off All-Round Performance As Australia Win

Michael Hussey led the way with the bat for Australia

©Action Images / Steven Paston

Tait Finishes Off All-Round Performance As Australia Win

Paul Collingwood stood firm for England in reply on his way to 95

©REUTERS/Philip Brown (BRITAIN - Tags: SPORT CRICKET) Picture Supplied by Action Images

Australia 277-7 (Hussey 79, Marsh 59, Paine 54) beat
England 235 (Collingwood 95, Tait 4-35) by 42 runs
Fifth One-Day International, Lord's
Scorecard

Shaun Marsh and Michael Hussey used the batting Power Play to their considerable advantage and Shaun Tait then delivered a stunning spell of fast bowling to help Australia beat England by 42 runs in the fifth and final One-Day International at Lord's.

Hussey and Marsh's efforts steered Australia to a score of 277 for seven before England, who nevertheless claimed the five-match series by a 3-2 scoreline, were bowled out for 235, never really recovering from Tait's opening burst and then seeing a key partnership between Paul Collingwood and Tim Bresnan broken by a brilliant run out from Ricky Ponting - after which they lost their last three wickets for 41 runs.

After a slow start, Australia had made their way to 147 for four after 39 overs before Marsh (59 in 50 balls) and Hussey (79 in 60 balls) smashed 63 runs in the five overs of mandatory fielding restrictions to begin the acceleration that was badly needed.

Marsh took centre stage by hitting sixes over midwicket, long on and straight down the ground on the way to his seventh ODI half-century and Hussey continued to plunder runs throughout and after the Power Play to reach his first half-century in eight matches, the pair putting on 107 for the fifth wicket.

Hussey was then helped at the end of the innings by Steven Smith, with whom he added a half-century partnershp in 25 balls before Smith hoiked Stuart Broad to James Anderson for 15 in 13 balls - the shot had more in common with a tennis smash and he had earlier pulled out a reverse pull through square cover.

Broad had earlier dismissed Shane Watson (14), who pulled him limply to Anderson at mid-off and Ricky Ponting (15), who gloved a short ball to Craig Kieswetter behind the stumps.

Tim Paine helped begin the recovery with 54 in 90 balls before he was bowled round his legs attempting to reverse sweep off-spinner Graeme Swann.

Swann went on to have Cameron White (20) and Marsh, back in the side due to an injury to Michael Clarke, caught in the deep, which was also where Hussey, who hit five fours and two huge sixes, fell in the final over for Broad's fourth wicket and Anderson's third catch.

James Hopes finished off the innings nicely for Australia with 12 runs in three balls as Broad ended with figures of four for 64 and Swann three for 32.

Tait then came out and bowled as fast a spell that many could remember seeing at Lord's, reaching 100mph for one delivery against Kieswetter and then clean bowling Andrew Strauss (6) and Michael Yardy (0). Yardy had been promoted to number three as a thigh injury to Kevin Pietersen meant he was unable to bat in his regular position.

Having survived Tait's initial onslaught, which included swing as well as raw pace, Kieswetter's leading edge found Hussey at cover as he pushed at Ryan Harris having made 11 and when Eoin Morgan (9) pulled Hopes to midwicket where Marsh took a tumbling catch, England were 72 for four and up against it.

That heralded the arrival of Pietersen, with Kieswetter as his runner, although he was hardly required as England's premier batsman chopped Smith onto his stumps to register a four-ball duck.

At the other end, Collingwood appeared completely unaffected by the flurry of wickets, latching onto a Tait short ball and depositing it into the stand and he reached his 26th ODI half-century in 74 balls with his second maximum.

He added 56 with Luke Wright (21) for the sixth wicket before the latter swept Smith carelessly and was caught by the running Marsh at deep backward square.

Bresnan then stroked an aggressive 34 in 30 balls, hitting five fours before his and Collingwood's 65-run stand was ended by a brilliant pick-up, swivel and throw to hit the stumps from Ponting at cover that left Bresnan a yard short of his ground.

Two balls later, Collingwood was bowled for 95 in 121 balls as he advanced down the pitch to Tait and although Swann provided some late entertainment with 33 in 21 balls, the game was up for England and Tait put the seal on proceedings by having the Nottinghamshire man caught by Harris at mid-off to finish with four for 48.

Smith returned two for 49 while Doug Bollinger, who took a stunning caught and bowled to dismiss Broad for three, Harris and Hopes were the other men to return a wicket.

Australia now focus their attentions on two Twenty20 Internationals against Pakistan at Edgbaston on 5th and 6th July while England meet Bangladesh in the first of three One-Day Internationals at Trent Bridge on 8th July.

© Cricket World 2010

Breaking news, score updates and interviews on Cricket World Live Radio, get the latest from Cricket World® with Facebook, twitter and YouTube, keep up with the action with the latest cricket TV highlights and interviews, enter our fantasy cricket competition and win some great prizes or play some fantastic cricket games.