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2nd over: Australia 20-1 (Warner 16, Marsh 1) First out from Topley. That’s Mitch Marsh at No.3 for Australia, by the way.
WICKET! Green c Buttler b Topley 1 (Australia 15-1)
Topley runs in and there is definitely a sound as the ball goes past Green’s inside edge on its way to Buttler. The finger doesn’t go up but Buttler checks immediately and Hot Spot shows a mark. The big man is on his way.
1st: Australia 14-0 (Green 1, Warner 13) Over the top for six! Warner shuffles the crease and takes a crazy shot that flies high and far behind the keeper’s head. From the next ball, he moves to mid four. A good start for Australia.
Interesting from Australia. Cameron Green opens with David Warner, which means Aaron Finch drops down the order, just as he did against the West Indies earlier this week.
Australia need 209 to win in 20 overs
A total monster from England. They looked as if they were going to get even bigger at one point, with Hales and Buttler whipping it all over the place. But Australia struggled with regular wickets at the bottom, Nathan Ellis their star bowler with 3-20 from his four overs. Still, the hosts will need to give him the right shot from the off if they want to chase them down.
20th over: England 208-6 (Woakes 13, Malan 2) England reach 200 thanks to Chris Woakes, who pumps Richardson for four outside off. And then a huge six off the penultimate ball! It’s a swing through the line from Woakes and the sound of the bat is unreal. England close with a single, taking them to 208-6.
WICKET! Moeen c Marsh b Ellis 10 (England 194-6)
Ellis ends a brilliant performance with another wicket. He digs his slower ball into the surface and Moeen’s top cut can only fly to Marsh at short third man. 3-20 from four overs for Australia’s quicks.
19th over: England 194-6 (Malan 1, Woakes 0)
WICKET! Curran b Ellis 2 (England 193-5)
Ellis is full and upright; Curran tries to go for a ramp but misses. Ellis strikes.
18th over: England 193-4 (Curran 2, Moeen 10) It’s a good finish for Australia until Moeen takes a decent look at a slower ball from Sams – he hits it over deep midwicket for six. Magnificent hit
WICKET! Brook c Richardson b Sams 12 (England 183-4)
Brook departs, gifting Richardson, running from deep tap, a simple catch off the bowling of Sams.
17th over: England 181-3 (Moeen 3, Brook 12) Things have calmed down since that monstrous opening stand, but England still have a very decent total. After a bunch of singles, Brook smacks another boundary off the final ball of Stoinis.
Some thoughts from Guy Hornsby:
This is an excellent start @tahahash, although against any Aussies attack, certainly hot. I’m still not convinced that Stokes is nailed down for the XI, especially given his time out. I’d rather have Duckett, with Curran as an all-rounder. But I guess he’s being chosen by the aura now.
— Guy Hornsby (@GuyHornsby) October 9, 2022
16th over: England 173-3 (Brook 6, Moeen 1) Brook is offered some width and swings the bat to find four points behind – a lovely shot from a man with excellent touch. slow He tries the reverse through cover, a shot he showed in Pakistan, but fails to make the right connection. He actually drops the bat on the follow-up before fighting for a single.
WICKET! Hales c David b Richardson 84 (England 167-3)
There won’t be a lot for Alex Hales. Richardson plays a slower ball, and Hales’ drive sends the ball flying into the hands of Tim David at distance.
Here’s a little throwback to Buttler’s knock. Ridiculous shot.
15th over: England 167-2 (Hales 84, Brook 1) Still not Malan then. It is Harry Brook who is ready as England prepare for the last five.
WICKET! Stokes c Warner b Stoinis 9 (England 165-2)
Stokes goes down the ground but fails to get the right connection, hitting the ball safely into the hands of long-on. It was a rusty knock, understandable given how long it has been since his last short-form knock.
14th over: England 159-1 (Stokes 4, Hales 83) Oh! Kane Richardson dropped the first ball of the over – it was tough – Stokes tries a reverse with the second ball from Sams. It’s not close, putting the ball on the gridiron. The doc comes out to take a look. Stokes is trying to get into this game; Hales, on the other hand, drives, hitting back-to-back boundaries in the over.
13th over: England 148-1 (Stokes 1, Hales 75) Buttler is gone but Hales is still running. Green is short with his third ball and Hales opens up for four over third man – loves it. A beamer follows later on top; Hales does well to get out of this. And then there’s a full toss from Green that Hales leaves for four. Australia’s all-rounder is struggling to find his length here – a half volley follows and Hales goes through extra cover for another boundary.
12th over: England 134-1 (Hales 63, Stokes 1) Interesting call from England. They have pushed Stokes up to No.3, ahead of Malan. Good over from Ellis, Australia’s best bowler today.
WICKET! Buttler c Richardson b Ellis 68 (England 132-1)
A strange few moments for Buttler. He takes a tumble running a single off the final ball of the 11th over, before regaining his composure to smash Ellis through midwicket for four. But now he’s gone, missing half of the bat as the ball is pitched to mid off for a simple catch.
11th over: England 128-0 (Buttler 64, Hales 62) Just not going Australia’s way, is it. When Hales doesn’t center them, his edges fly away for four. 10 over, another good one for the visitors.
10th over: England 118-0 (Hales 53, Buttler 63) Hales joins Buttler to lift the batting half-century before the captain bounces back and smashes Swepson over midwicket for his fourth six of the innings. The final ball is short and Buttler finds it again for four more. The leg player is taking a serious beating here.
9th over: England 101-0 (Hales 47, Buttler 52) 50 for Jos Buttler off just 25 balls. He’s back!
8th over: England 93-0 (Buttler 46, Hales 45) Hales once again finds four behind point, cutting Marcus Stoinis with the back of his bat. And then there’s a six for Hales with another sloppy shot, a top edge flying over the keeper’s head. A wide follows from Stoinis before Hales hits another six, and this one looks the part – it’s straight and authoritative. Another great finish for England. Australia, who have already used six bowlers, are in trouble.
7th over: England 72-0 (Hales 26, Buttler 45) Jos Buttler, that’s bad. Mitch Swepson is in his first bowl and is smashed for consecutive sixes. The first was very long, the second on the deep part.
6th over: England 58-0 (Buttler 32, Hales 25) Almost a brilliant catch by Mitch Marsh! Buttler tries to take a short ball from Ellis but gets a rising edge to Marsh’s left at short third man – the fielder jumps to get a hand but can’t hold on.
5th over: England 50-0 (Hales 19, Buttler 30) Very smart from Alex Hales. Goes back towards Richardson’s first ball and creates enough space for the fishing delivery to slice it over backward point for four. And that is very, very clever of Jos Buttler. He moves to the off side to play the four ramp. But wait a second, he plays the same shot next to the ball for six! Richardson fell shorter with that ball, and that allowed Buttler to get the lift to full. England are 50 and Buttler looks in good touch.
Updated at 09.32 BST
4th over: England 35-0 (Hales 14, Buttler 20) Nathan Ellis replaces Richardson and shows some neat changes of pace to produce the best spell of the innings so far.
3rd over: England 30-0 (Hales 11, Buttler 18) First up, a wicked bouncer from Daniel Sams, but Hales has his revenge a couple of balls later – he smashes it for a six! Cracking delivery from Sams around the wicket to Buttler there, causing the ball to slip away from the right-hander. England ended up struggling for a couple.
2nd over: England 21-0 (Hales 4, Buttler 16) Kane Richardson is in from the other end and Hales has his first four when the bowler falls short, giving the batsman room to clip behind point.
1st over: England 16-0 (Hales 0, Buttler 16) Green runs in and shapes the ball away from the right-hander – he’s too full on his second ball and Jos Buttler cuts it for four. And then… another four! Full again and Buttler does it very well through the covers. The sound of the bat was the *chef’s kiss*. And then another limit! Full again and Buttler goes down the ground. A yorker follows from Green before Buttler smashes his fourth four! He slaps this one halfway. What a return for Jos!
Alex Hales and Jos Buttler are out in the middle. Cameron Green has the ball. Here we go!
Equipment:
Australia: Aaron Finch (c), David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Cameron Green, Matthew Wade (wk), Daniel Sams, Nathan Ellis, Kane Richardson, Mitchell Swepson
England: Jos Buttler (c) (wk), Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Reece Topley
Hales overtakes Salt at the top of the England order, and Stokes returns to No. 4. This is his first T20 since… July 2021! Don’t hate me for linking my own work, but here’s something I wrote about it earlier this week:
Australia win the toss and will bowl first
Aaron Finch is backing his side to chase. A host of changes for the hosts who have rested a few players for this series opener. Jos Buttler leads England once again; would have played first too. oh well
Jonny Bairstow is in the BT studio! Gut for him and for England that he’s not out there…