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Australia tour of England 2015

Scorecard - Only T20I, England vs Australia at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, Wales (31 Aug 2015)

England

182/5 (20) RR:9.1

England won by 5 runs

MOM: Moeen Ali
Australia

177/8 (20) RR:8.85

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19.2 - Starc to Moeen Ali, FOUR, gee! That is a top shot from Moeen Ali. Who said you need to hit the ball hard to collect boundaries? Starc goes back over the wicket to the left-hander and bowls a juicy full ball outside off stump, Moeen Ali doesn't try to do anything fancy, just opens the face of the bat at the last moment and slices it over cover-point, the timing was so good and it almost went all the way

17.1 - Starc to Buttler, FOUR, no one at long-off and that's a safe hit. Full and outside off stump, Buttler frees his arms and lofts it over wide mid-off for a boundary. Good start to the over for England

13.3 - Boyce to Moeen Ali, FOUR, Moeen Ali had ages to play that shot. He brings up his fifty with that hit as well. He gets a good round of the applause from the capacity crowd and he raises his bat to acknowledge the cheer. Short and on the stumps, Moeen rocks back and pulls it powerfully to the deep mid-wicket fence

11.5 - Coulter-Nile to Moeen Ali, FOUR, oh that's cleverly done, with fine leg inside the ring, Moeen Ali walks right across and exposes his leg stick, Coulter-Nile tries to hit timber but the batsman was easily able to help it on its way to the left of the man at 45

11.4 - Coulter-Nile to Moeen Ali, FOUR, whipped away nicely and it almost goes all the way. Length on offer from Coulter-Nile, Moeen Ali uses his wrists and sends it flying over mid-wicket, the timing was so good and the fielder had no chance

10.1 - Mitchell Marsh to Eoin Morgan, FOUR, calculated hit! Morgan sees that mid-on was inside the ring and went over him. Marsh pushed across the left-hander, Morgan reaches out for it and toe-ends it over the fielder

8.3 - Stoinis to Moeen Ali, FOUR, the debutant is put under pressure immediately. Ali skips out of the crease, as expected Stoinis drags the length back, allows Ali to free his arms, who pulls it over mid-wicket, one bounce and over the fence

6.5 - Mitchell Marsh to Eoin Morgan, FOUR, how quick is the outfield? That was a mistimed shot. Short and on the body, Morgan swivels and pulls it off the inside half of the bat, he gets it fine and manages to evade the fielder in the deep

6.1 - Mitchell Marsh to Moeen Ali, FOUR, back-to-back boundaries for England. Marsh greeted with a top shot. Overpitched outside off, Ali lofts it inside out over extra cover, beats sweeper comfortably. Couple of bounces and over the rope

6.0 - P Cummins to Eoin Morgan, FOUR, fabulous shot! That gets the crowd going. The best shot of the innings so far. On a length outside off, Morgan leans into the drive, caresses it past the diving cover fielder, the timing and fast outfield takes care of the rest

2.4 - Starc to Jason Roy, FOUR, finally, he middles one and picks up his first boundary. Short of length on the stumps, Roy goes on one leg, pulls it behind square, the fielder in the deep had no chance of stopping that

17.2 - Starc to Buttler, SIX, long-on was called in prior to this ball and Buttler sends this over his head. Slower delivery on the stumps, Buttler goes for the loft, not timed well as the bat turns in his hands, but the timing was good enough for it to just clear the fence

16.0 - P Cummins to Eoin Morgan, SIX, gee! What batting this is from the England captain. Shortish and on the leg stump, Morgan pulls powerfully, finds the middle of the bat and muscles it over deep mid-wicket

15.5 - P Cummins to Eoin Morgan, SIX, in the airrrrr, Smith runs back and it clears the boundary. Cummins tries the slower ball, goes as a high full toss, Morgan asks if it was above waist height, but it's fine, he didn't middle it all that well but it went all the way

14.5 - Watson to Eoin Morgan, SIX, crashed! Watto missed the yorker by a couple of yards and Morgan muscles it straight back over the bowler's head, that didn't have a lot of height on it but it was hit very hard

14.4 - Watson to Eoin Morgan, SIX, fifty for the England captain. He said he's very fresh after taking a break and boy, he's looking really good here. Short delivery on the leg stump, Morgan gives the charge, again is off balance as he plays the pull, yet he times it so well and it sails way back over the backward square leg boundary. Morgan raises his bat to the crowd and the dressing room

14.1 - Watson to Eoin Morgan, SIX, lofted and that's gone way back over long-on, what a way to raise the 100 partnership. Can't bowl length to this man Watto, that's cruel from the Australian all-rounder, Morgan easily muscles it over the rope

13.4 - Boyce to Moeen Ali, SIX, in the air and all the way. Flighted delivery from Boyce, Moeen Ali steps out, gets close to the pitch of the ball and plays a lovely whip, boy what wrists does he have, the timing is so good and it lands well beyond the deep mid-wicket boundary

13.2 - Boyce to Moeen Ali, SIX, brave hit from Moeen Ali and that brings up the 100 for England. On seeing the batsman advance, Boyce drops it short, even though he wasn't to the pitch of the ball, Moeen goes through for the flat-batted loft and clears long-on easily in the end

12.2 - Watson to Eoin Morgan, SIX, oh that is an excellent hit from the England captain. Boy, how did he time that so well despite being off balance while playing the shot? Watson drops it short on seeing Morgan advance, the batsman had no room to work with, yet he goes through with a flat-batted lofted hit, times it well enough to hit the sightscreen near long-off

10.2 - Mitchell Marsh to Eoin Morgan, SIX, that's out of the park. The biggest hit of the night. That has gone out of the ground. A passer-by picks it up and throws it back into the ground. Morgan is now the leading run-scorer for England in T20Is - goes past KP. Full and in the slot, Morgan plants his front foot forward and hammers it straight back over the bowler's head

8.2 - Stoinis to Moeen Ali, SIX, that is into the crowd. Ali gives the charge and Stoinis drops it short, it was the slower ball as well, Ali picked it early, got into position, pulled over deep square leg for a maximum

19.4 - Starc to S Billings, out S Billings Run Out!! Full ball from Starc, Billings drills it straight to mid-off, tries to steal a run, but Smith fires a good throw which was adjacent to the stumps, Starc does well to come up to the stumps and makes no mistake. Billings was well short of the crease. S Billings run out (Smith/Starc) 2(7)

17.3 - Starc to Buttler, out Caught by P Cummins!! Oh that's a soft dismissal for Buttler. This should have been put away and he's livid with himself as he walks back. Full and in the slot, Buttler would have smashed that out of the ground 9 times out of 10, he goes hard at it, but the bat turns in his hands on impact with the ball and goes straight to mid-on. Maybe Buttler should have aimed mid-off, extra-cover, than long-on. Buttler c P Cummins b Starc 11(4) [4s-1 6s-1]

16.2 - Coulter-Nile to Eoin Morgan, out Caught by Watson!! A lot of height on this one, but I am not sure if it has enough legs, Watto takes a cool catch at long-on. Eoin Morgan gets a great ovation as he walks off the field. He raises his bat to the crowd as well. End of a sensational 135-run stand. Australia needed this wicket badly as these two were taking the game away from them. A good slower ball from Coulter-Nile, Morgan didn't pick it, went for the loft again, but didn't time it well, it went high in the air, Watson judged it to perfection, he was so close to the rope but he was calm and composed as he pouched it with both hands. Eoin Morgan c Watson b Coulter-Nile 74(39) [4s-3 6s-7]

4.0 - P Cummins to Jason Roy, out Caught by Coulter-Nile!! What a start for Cummins! He has picked two in his first over. Roy was struggling at the wicket and finally succumbs to a big shot. It was a good length delivery outside off, Roy goes for the loft, slices it off the outer half towards extra cover, Coulter-Nile runs back from mid-off, keeps his eyes on the ball and takes a good catch, ensures that the ball doesn't pop out even as he tumbles on the ground. England in a bit of trouble. Jason Roy c Coulter-Nile b P Cummins 11(16) [4s-1]

3.3 - P Cummins to Hales, out Bowled!! Third time lucky for Cummins. He gives Australia the first breakthrough. Once more Hales was beaten for pace - 91.5mph. Another full toss that is angled in, Hales stays rooted to the crease, gets an inside edge onto the back pad, the ball crashes into the stumps. All three deliveries, Hales was late on the shot. Hales b P Cummins 3(7)

18.4 - Willey to Stoinis, FOUR, drops the slower delivery short, Stoinis spotted it early, went on the back foot and pulled it in front of square on the leg-side, bisected the two fielders in the deep. Billings tried to flick it in, but in vain

17.1 - Topley to Mitchell Marsh, FOUR, that's sloppy from Moeen Ali. Fuller and outside off, Marsh drills it wide of long-off, Moeen does all the hard work of getting to the ball, but looks up to see if the batsmen are coming back for the second, allows the ball to go through his legs

16.2 - Willey to Smith, FOUR, gee! This guy can toy around with bowling attacks. Nothing wrong with the delivery. On a length just outside off, Smith shuffles across his stumps, gets inside the line and whips it over short fine, no need to run for those

14.2 - Stokes to Smith, FOUR, bad delivery. Drops the slower delivery short, Smith had all the time in the world to pick his spot, goes back and tonks it over mid-wicket, no one in the deep to stop that

11.4 - Adil Rashid to Smith, FOUR, fifty for Smith - his first in T20Is. Raise of the bat and punch of the gloves. Flighted outside off, Smith drags the drive towards long-on, the fielder was wide and had no chance of cutting that off

10.4 - Stokes to Smith, FOUR, the back of the hand slower delivery outside off stump, the line is very wide and too short as well, Smith cuts it to the right of the man at point and picks up four

8.5 - Stokes to Smith, FOUR, excellent hit and great placement too. Short and outside the off stump, Smith is quick to rock back and pull, he hits this to the right of the man at deep square leg and picks up a boundary

7.0 - Topley to Maxwell, FOUR, pulled away and in the gap as well. Short and on the leg stump, asking for trouble, Maxwell rocks back and nails the pull shot to perfection

6.4 - Topley to Maxwell, FOUR, oh that's gone through Hales at deep point. Length delivery just outside off stump, Maxwell carves it away through point, Hales runs to his left from sweeper cover, gets to the ball but lets it go through

6.1 - Topley to Maxwell, FOUR, oh almost dragged on. Length delivery just outside off stump, Maxwell slogs hard and gets a thick edge that escapes the sticks and runs away for four

4.3 - Topley to Smith, FOUR, in the airrrrr and just over the man at mid-on. Length ball from Topley, Smith lofts it over the infield, the fielder there jumps high but it evades him and escapes for four

3.4 - Finn to Smith, FOUR, pulled and he uses his wrists nicely to keep it along the ground. Shortish and on the off stump, Smith goes for the pull after getting inside the line, rolls his wrists over the ball and beats the man at deep square leg

3.1 - Finn to Maxwell, FOUR, good start for Maxi. Finn offers a juicy full ball, Maxwell drives it straight down the ground, timing was good enough and the fast outfield does the rest

2.5 - Willey to Maxwell, FOUR, shortish from Willey, can't bowl there with fine leg inside the ring, Maxwell gets inside the line and pulls it to the left of the fielder there and sends it to the long leg boundary

2.3 - Willey to Maxwell, FOUR, width on offer outside off stump and Maxwell smashes it. The length was slightly short as well and Maxwell slaps it hard, cover dives to his left but in vain

1.4 - Finn to Watson, FOUR, overpitched and punished. No swing on this one for Finn as it was bowled with a scrambled seam, Watson spots the length early, waits and drives it wide of mid-off

1.1 - Finn to Watson, FOUR, a long hop and Watson is off the mark in grand style. Short and just outside off stump, Watson plays a pull off the front foot and sends it through mid-wicket

16.3 - Willey to Smith, SIX, fabulous shot! Smith makes batting look so easy. Fuller and around off, Smith stays leg-side of the ball, opens up the off-side and lofts it inside out over extra cover, he timed it so well that it went the distance

12.3 - Finn to Smith, SIX, monster hit! Even George Bailey loved it in the dugout. Another length delivery right in the slot, Smith clears his front leg and hoicks it towards cow corner. That went a long, long way. Would be interesting to see the distance on that and compare it to Morgan's six earlier in the day

11.1 - Adil Rashid to Maxwell, SIX, that is 20 rows back into the crowd. Half tracker from Rashid and he has been punished. Maxwell rocked back and pulled it over deep square leg. Rashid knew it was a terrible delivery

9.1 - Adil Rashid to Smith, SIX, dropped in the crowd. Wow! That went off the toe-end of the bat, yet it went all the way over long-on. Flighted delivery outside off stump, Smith advances and goes for the loft, gets away with a mishit

5.1 - Finn to Smith, SIX, back over the bowler's head and that's gone all the way. Gee! He hardly hit that hard! Full delivery from Finn, it was in the slot, Smith lofts on the rise and sends it straight down the ground for a maximum

19.5 - Stokes to Stoinis, out P Cummins Run Out!! 1 run completed. Another one bites the dust. England have one foot in the door. Full and on the stumps, Stoinis wrists it to long-on, Cummins had to come back for the second, Roy fires a bullet throw to Stokes, who positioned himself right next to the stumps, he whips the bails off to catch Cummins short of the crease. P Cummins run out (J Roy/Stokes) 0(0)

19.4 - Stokes to Coulter-Nile, out Caught by Adil Rashid!! Australia are falling apart. Stokes exults in delight. He doesn't celebrate with the rest of his mates. Goes towards Morgan and has a word. Length delivery right in the slot, Coulter-Nile swings towards the leg-side, the thickish outside edge skies towards short third man, Rashid settles under it and pouches it comfortably. Coulter-Nile c Adil Rashid b Stokes 0(1)

19.1 - Stokes to Wade, out Wade Run Out!! 1 run completed. Wade has been sold down the river. That is poor from the debutant. Back of a length just outside off, Wade hammers it wide of long-off, there was always two, Stoinis had the momentum as he started well from the non-striker's end and Wade was going back thinking he was coming, but Stoinis sends him back and it is too late, Morgan fires an accurate throw to Stokes, who does the rest. Wade run out (Eoin Morgan/Stokes) 2(2)

18.3 - Willey to Smith, out Caught by S Billings!! Is this the game-changer? Willey rises to the occasion. England celebrate and so do the crowd. Nonetheless, it is a brilliant innings that has come to an end. Willey stays round the wicket, bowls an off-speed length delivery, Smith cleared his front leg to target the cow corner fence, got it off the toe-end and the ball ballooned to deep mid-wicket, Billings held his nerve and took it calmly. Smith c S Billings b Willey 90(53) [4s-7 6s-4]

17.4 - Topley to Mitchell Marsh, out Bowled!! First T20I wicket for Topley. It was the back of the hand slower delivery, Marsh was through the pull shot a year ago, the ball takes the inside edge and crashes into the stumps. It might be too late for England though. Mitchell Marsh b Topley 13(13) [4s-1]

13.1 - Moeen Ali to Maxwell, out Caught by Stokes!! Stunner from Stokes. He enjoyed it and so did Billings, who was very close to him. Moeen Ali strikes with his first ball. Is this the opening that England were looking for? Fraction short and around off, Maxwell goes back and pulls towards long-on, Stokes runs to his right, keeps his eyes on the ball, flies to his right and collects it shoulder high - with both hands. Maxwell c Stokes b Moeen Ali 44(32) [4s-6 6s-1]

1.5 - Finn to Watson, out Bowled!! Oh dear! What have you done Watto! He tries to kick the ball away but misses and it disturbs the stumps. Short of a length delivery on the off stump, Watson defends with soft hands, it rolls back towards the stumps, Watson turns and tries to kick it with his boot but doesn't make contact, the ball hits the stumps and Watson can't believe his luck. England were 18/2, Australia are 12/2. Not the ideal start for the visitors in a big run chase. Watson b Finn 8(5) [4s-2]

1.0 - Willey to Warner, out Caught by Finn!! Oh he's been squared up completely and the thick edge of the bat brings about his downfall here. These days batsman have big bats, a thinner bat would have saved Warner here as it wouldn't have carried. Short of a length delivery swinging away from the left-hander, Warner got into a bit of tangle as he tries to flick, the late away movement foxed him, the ball took the leading edge and flew in the air as if it went from the middle of the bat, third man took a few steps forward and took it at a comfortable height. Great start with the ball for England. Warner c Finn b Willey 4(6)

12.1 - Finn to Smith, 2 runs, shortish and outside off, Smith doesn't get hold of the cut, but hits it to the left of cover, Hales at sweeper had some ground to cover and the batsmen come back for the second. The 100-run stand comes up

7.4 - Adil Rashid to Smith, 1 run, tossed up outside off stump, Smith leans forward and drives it down to long-off, fifty partnership comes up

2.4 - Willey to Maxwell, no run, oh Maxwell is cramped for room by this inswinging short of length delivery, tries to fend awkwardly, the ball rolls towards gully off the under edge, Smith charges for a run but Maxwell simply turns his back, the fielder has a shy at the bowler's end but misses