Starc and Carey dismantle England in the second ODI at Headingley to take a 2-0 lead in the 5-match ODI series.
Starc made a dramatic entrance to the ODI series by castling stand-in England captain Harry Brook. Alex Carey, meanwhile, produced a match-changing innings as Australia went 2-0 up with an 68-run win.
Starc’s magnificent set-up of Brook, which he finished with a cruel delivery that thundered into his pad as he was beaten for pace, compounded England’s early woes in a chase of 271. After Carey’s 74 added vital late runs to an odd Australia innings. A little while later, Aaron Hardie got two wickets in two balls, including a superb caught-and-bowled to remove the in-form Ben Duckett, leaving the home team with a mountain to climb at 65 for 5.
With a 55-ball stand, Jamie Smith and Jacob Bethell halted the bleeding. However, Bethell was able to skew a short, wide long jump from Glenn Maxwell to backward point. Despite the fact that England’s lower order demonstrated there weren’t many demons in the surface, Smith’s clip of Josh Hazlewood to midwicket for a very tidy 49 almost ended the game.
After falling behind nine wickets in the 37th over, Australia was bowled out with more than five overs left. Carey and Hazlewood, who were only playing because Josh Inglis was injured, put up a last-wicket stand of 49 runs.
Australia were not as strong at the bat in the early half of the match as they had been at Trent Bridge. After a 55-run partnership between Carey and Hardie, Mitchell Marsh and Marnus Labuschagne reduced them to 145 for 3, with to three quick wickets taken by Bethell and Adil Rashid (who got his 200th ODI wicket).
However, Carey played shrewdly as he took singles late in an over to protect Hazlewood, who only contributed four to the stand, while taking advantage of boundary opportunities, including gorgeous off-side sixes against Potts and Olly Stone. Carey had been welcomed to the crease by a crowd that needlessly reminded him of events from the previous year.
When Adam Zampa carved Rashid to point it appeared the innings was on the brink of a very early finish but the final-wicket stand, coupled with Australia’s start with the ball, put a very different complexion on the game.