Australia defeat England by 64 runs in the 2nd ODI to take 2-0 series lead

Mitchell Marsh’s 31-ball 64 took the Australian total beyond the 300-run mark

Australia defeated England by 64 runs in the second ODI of the five-match series at Lord’s to take a 2-0 lead in the series. The hosts could only muster 245 in reply to Australia’s total of 309/6 to hand them a comfortable win, but the match was overshadowed by the controversial dismissal of Ben Stokes who was given out obstructing the field.

Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith and George Bailey all scored half-centuries for the visitors to help them score their second consecutive 300-plus score in the series, in spite of the match being reduced to 49 overs due to rain. Austalia was dealt a heavy blow early on as big-hitting opener David Warner had to retire hurt after being hit on the thumb by a rising delivery from Steve Finn. It has now been confirmed that the Australian vice-captain will miss the remainder of the series.

Bailey and Smith, however, steadied the innings after Burns was dismissed for 22 and laid the foundation for Glenn Maxwell, who hit a 38-ball 49. His dismissal left the 300-run an improbable target at one point, but Marsh had other ideas. The all-rounder hit 64 from just 31 balls to take the game beyond England’s grasps.

The English openers, Jason Roy and Alex Hales, were quick in their response, but the stand was broken just when it seemed threatening, a trend that would continue throughout the hosts’ innings. Skipper Eoin Morgan and James Taylor were the only ones who really looked like posting a serious chase of the target with scores of 85 and 43 respectively, but the score always looked beyond them with run rate creeping up early on.

The talking point of the match however, happened in the 26^th over with Stokes becoming just the sixth player in ODI history to be given out obstructing the field. The 24-year-old though appeared to be protecting himself more than anything else when he stuck his hand out as bowler Mitchell Starc threw the ball back at the stumps after Stokes had hit Mitchell Starc’s fast and full inswinging delivery straight back to the bowler.

The Australian team, however, decided to appeal suggesting that Stokes was out of the crease and had intentionally struck out his hand. On-field umpires Kumar Dharmasena and Tim Robinson decided to hand over the final call to the third umpire, Joe Wilson, who ruled in the favour of the reigning world champions, much to the displeasure of the Lord's crowd who responded with cries of boos.

Scores:

Australia 309/6 (49 overs) England 245 all out (42.3 overs)

Australia won by 64 runs. Lead series 2-0