Sunday, December 22, 2024

England vs Australia: Liam Livingstone smashes hosts to victory in second T20

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For the second game running, Australia came flying out of the blocks in the powerplay with Short striking the first blow – an enormous six off Reece Topley second ball – before Travis Head took over.

The left-hander, captaining Australia for the first time with Mitchell Marsh missing through illness, twice cleared the short straight boundaries as the tourists’ 50 came up after four overs.

Unlike in Southampton, though, England managed to recover before the powerplay was done with the returning Carse, who looked sharp from the off, removing Head for 31.

England slowed the scoring rate further once the fielding restrictions eased with the spin of Adil Rashid and Livingstone again causing Australia problems.

Carse also made the most of a dry surface with a number of cutters, as well as cranking it up to 90mph-plus.

But Fraser-McGurk showcased his fast hands and power as he plundered four fours and two sixes on his way to a 29-ball half-century.

He fell to Livingstone two balls later, holing out to Jamie Overton at long on, and Marcus Stoinis followed suit in near-identical manner two overs later.

Carse returned to remove Tim David but all the while Inglis kept Australia ticking to set the tourists up for a big finish.

Inglis was dismissed by Sam Curran but Cameron Green and Aaron Hardie took 20 from the left-armer in the final over to ensure Australia’s innings ended as it started.

More to follow.

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