Curran crushes Australia in spectacular defeat

Australia continues to disappoint in the shorter forms of the game as they now record their fourth consecutive ODI series loss after England seal a 4-1 victory by 12 runs.

Looking at the stats Australia since the last summer has lost 12 out of 18 games and have one of the lowest win percentages going around in the international arena over the past 12 months. There is no doubt that Australia's lack of success in the ODIs has certainly shown through in this series. There has been barely any contribution from Australia's senior players in Mitchell Starc, David Warner and Steve Smith.

With the series done and dusted the new Optus Stadium made its international debut and sure had a mysterious element to it despite the sell out crowd that came to witness the glorious spectacle. With Australia winning the toss and electing to bowl on the new deck, England again began to attack the Australian bowlers with the likes of an underdone Mitchell Starc again being dispatched to all parts of the ground.

Just like the beginning of the series, Jason Roy (49) and Johnny Bairstow (44) began to hammer the Australian bowling attack, in particular, Starc being on the receiving end of some massive blows. But the fast start that England got off to, a first innings score in excess of 400 looked to be on the cards. However, the inclusion of Andrew Tye proved to be the game savour to some extent as he claimed his maiden five-wicket haul (5/46) to have the tourists dismissed for 259.

Seeing the start that England had, it is fair to say that it was a below-par performance from the tourists, but still, Australia had a decent chase on their hands. With no Mark Wood or Chris Woakes, Australia was certainly at a much greater advantage. But what has been seen throughout the entire series is only one player from Australia was able to take the game on. With David Warner again falling for a low score and Steve Smith showing no real assertion at the crease of that which he had in the test series. Over the past 12 months what has been seen is one player who has really stood up in pressure moments and been a complete class above the rest of the players in the limited overs format is Marcus Stoinis. From his incredible heroics against New Zealand to being really the lone ranger in India, continued to have a fantastic series in his first Australian summer. But it all seemed that he was again the lone ranger who made a brilliant 87 batting at number 3, however, with a lack of batting partners Australia's chances of winning soon began to fly through the window.

I honestly think that among players like Hashim Amla, Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, Babar Azam and the great Virat Kohli, Stoinis is one of the best ODI players going around. I think that considering the losses that Australia have had and the scores that Stoinis has made in those losing situations, certainly ranks him very highly in my books. However, I did feel that his full potential was being slightly wasted at number 6, which is why I thought that batting him higher up the order at number 3 was a brilliant move for this game. And he certainly proved the management correct as he powered his way to a marvellous 87 with a crumbling batting order by his side. The only conflict I have with Stoinis moving up the order is the compromise of Steve Smith's batting position. I strongly believe that some players own certain positions in the batting order and they need to cement those positions to be able to fulfil their roles in the teams and what has granted them success in that position in the first place. Hence, I think that whilst Stoinis played gloriously at number 3, I would like to see Smith back at number 3 because there is no doubt that he is their best player and the best player should be batting at 3 and in a position where they have the most authority and success.

Overall I think that leading up to the World Cup, Australia has plenty of work to do as they have not performed to a level to which their reputation suggests. Moreover, I think that Australia needs to really solidify the players that they want to see in the upcoming world cup and stop with all the experimenting which I think is why Australia is so far behind every other international team in the world.

When I look at England I see a team that is well focused, whereas when I see this Australian limited overs outfit, I only see good players underperforming and too few players putting their hands up to take the team forward. I think that these past 12 months have been a big eye opener for Australia and the whole public in general in that the Australian cricket team is exposed and is not playing cricket to that which they are known to play.

There is no doubt Australia has not demonstrated much ability to be able to perform overseas and what is more dissapointing is that they are losing games more often at home as well. This is a major concern for what is a brilliant looking team but a very underperforming one. Moreover, it is also a major concern for Australian Cricket in general which is looking like slipping back into the cracks and is no longer dominating world cricket.

But all credit goes to England who has played with the correct mindset throughout the entire series. And that is to go aggressive against Australia who has proved to have no answers when it comes to aggressive intent.

I think that this series has seen plenty of sparks from both sides. In that Aaron Finch rose to form in spectacular fashion with 3 games including 2 centuries and 1 half century. Moreover, this series also showcased the remarkable form of Marcus Stoinis and the announcement of Jhye Richardson, Andrew Tye and Alex Carey onto the global stage. But I think what England have done is that they found a team that they are confident can win them a World Cup and along with India, they are becoming the powerhouse of limited overs cricket.

Overall, it has been a series in which England have dominated and Australia have disappointed in. Moreover, with star players missing the T20s I do not see Australia have any more successes for the rest of the summer competition with a settled England lineup and a hostile New Zealand attack.

As I do for all my series recaps, I like to make a series team based on their performances throughout what has been a brilliant series of entertainment and quality.

GILLETTE ODI SERIES XI: Aaron Finch (Australia), Jason Roy (England), Joe Root (England), Eoin Morgan (England) (c), Marcus Stoinis (Australia), Jos Butler (England) (wk), Chris Woakes (England), Tom Curran (England), Pat Cummins (Australia), Adil Rashid (England), Josh Hazelwood (Australia), Moeen Ali (England) (12th man)