What The Hell Happened Over There, Says Shane Warne As England Dismantle Australia
The last few months have been nothing less than a disaster for Australian cricket. The year started on a good note for the Aussies as they won the Ashes 4-0. However, it was not the precursor of the things that were to follow. A couple of months later after the Ashes glory, the Australian team was engulfed by the ball-tampering scandal.
It brought huge changes in Australian cricket. Cricket Australia handed lengthy bans to skipper Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft. Darren Lehmann stepped down as head coach and was replaced by Justin Langer. Tim Paine was given the responsibility of leading the side in Tests and ODIs. And the journey so far has been nothing less than calamitous.
On Tuesday, Australia witnessed yet another low in their otherwise glorious cricket history. Bitter rivals England thrashed them by a record 242 runs in the third ODI to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.
Batting first, England scored 481 fo 6, the highest-ever ODI score. Centuries from Jonny Bairstow and Alex Hales, plus a 21-ball half-century from Eoin Morgan helped them eclipse the 444 for three they made at the same venue against Pakistan two years ago. Overall, England thrashed 41 fours and 21 sixes.
Bairstow smashed 139 – his fourth ODI century in six games – while Hales hit 147. Bairstow’s knock came off just 92 balls and contained 15 fours and 5 sixes. On the other hand, Hales hit 16 fours and 5 sixes during his 147-run knock.
The Australians then failed to show up with the bat. On a good batting pitch, they were all out for 239 in 37 overs. Barring Travis Head, who scored 51, none of the other batsmen could put up a good fight.
With this loss, Australia have now suffered back-to-back ODI series defeats against England for the first time in 41 years. The 242-run defeat is also their heaviest in ODIs.
And just like many of his compatriots, Shane Warne was also taken aback when he woke up on Wednesday. In fact, the legendary Australian was so shocked that he took to Twitter to express his dismay, writing:
Just woke up and saw the score in England. What the hell happened over there & what is going on boys ? Gulp…..
Just woke up and saw the score in England. What the hell happened over there & what is going on boys ? Gulp…..
