Mitchell Marsh Reflects on Australia’s Narrow Loss to England in Third ODI

Durham, UK – September 25: After Australia’s loss to England in the third ODI, Australian captain Mitchell Marsh shared his thoughts on the match. He mentioned that initially, 250 seemed like a good score, but a strong partnership between Harry Brook and Will Jacks, along with a change in pitch conditions, shifted the game in England’s favor.

The 2023 World Champions’ 14-match winning streak in ODIs ended with a 156-run partnership between Brook and Jacks, helping England chase 305 runs and win by four runs via the Duckworth-Lewis method in a rain-affected match. This victory kept the series alive at 2-1.

Marsh said, “I thought we did extremely well to get to 300, particularly with conditions early on. England was too good with the bat. I thought 250 after that start would be awesome and we were well and truly in the game. We knew the wicket had flattened out, but they (England) got a really good partnership going. Fair play to them.”

England, initially struggling at 11/2, turned the game around with Brook and Jacks’ partnership. Jacks scored 84 runs in 82 balls, including nine fours and a six. After Jacks’ dismissal, Liam Livingstone joined Brook and scored a quick 33* in 20 balls, helping England surpass the DLS par score when rain interrupted the match.

For Australia, Cameron Green and Mitchell Starc took two wickets each. After winning the toss, England chose to field first and reduced Australia to 47/2. An 84-run partnership between Steve Smith and Green brought stability, and contributions from Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, and Aaron Hardie helped Australia reach 304/7 in 50 overs. Jofra Archer was the standout bowler for England with 2/67.

A win would have extended Australia’s ODI winning streak to 15 and moved them to the top of the ICC ODI Men’s Team Rankings. However, the defeat leaves them three rating points behind the top spot.