England vs Australia 2018: 5 Talking Points from 3rd ODI

Powered by their enviable top-order, England seamlessly surged to the highest total in ODI history without breaking much sweat. Upon inserting their opposition on a benign surface at Trent Bridge, Australia found themselves enduring a horror outing as the hosts unveiled a record-breaking performance with the bat during the third ODI of the 5-match series.

Extra Cover: Stats - England amass the highest ODI total of all time

Scintillating centuries from Jonny Bairstow and Alex Hales were at the forefront of England's scarcely believable total of 481 for the loss of six wickets. Battered into submission, Australia crumbled to an ignominious 242-run defeat and conceded an irreversible 0-3 deficit to the top ranked ODI outfit.

Here are the major talking points from the remarkable encounter in Nottingham.

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#5 Bullish Bairstow continues majestic form

Bairstow's scores in his last six ODI outings make for astonishing reading. After rounding off the New Zealand series with 104 and 138, the dynamic right-hander smashed 105 in the one-off match against Scotland. Considering his high returns, even decent scores of 28 and 42 appear as aberrations at the start of the ongoing Australian affair.

Laced with15 boundaries and 5 sixes, Bairstow took advantage of the docile Trent Bridge track by hammering 139 from just 92 balls. He had to survive a couple of nervous moments towards the beginning of the innings.

A missed attempt at executing the sweep shot saw the umpire giving in to the vociferous appeal from Ashton Agar. However, Bairstow immediately called for the DRS and found the ball just missing the leg stump. In the very next over, he was dropped by Marcus Stoinis. From thereon, it was only one way traffic as the opener relentlessly punished the Australian bowlers.

#4 Unstoppable England splatter record books

Alex Hales did not take too long to hit top gear

After witnessing his opening partner Jason Roy running himself out, Bairstow stitched another significant partnership with Alex Hales. When it seemed as if a double ton was there for the taking, the opener holed out to deep mid-wicket at the start of the 35th over.

Hales carried on from where Bairstow left off. The belligerent 29-year old found a suitable ally in skipper Eoin Morgan and expounded England's already advantageous position. By the time the last ten overs began, the hosts were setting their sights on the unimaginable 500-run mark.

However, a considerably reasonable comeback from Australia meant that England had to settle for the highest ODI total of all time. Shattering their own previous mark of 444, they came within 19 runs of breaching the 500-run mark. In all List A cricket, only Surrey (496) have bettered their gargantuan total of 481.

#3 No country for bowlers?

Trent Bridge has produced five team totals in excess of 400 in List A cricket

During the primitive era of ODI cricket, England produced the most balanced contests between bat and ball. With the new ball swinging for a significant time period, top-order batsmen used to think twice before playing extravagant shots.

Perhaps, the trend has now changed irrevocably. Seamers are struggling to remain potent as the white Kookaburra stops swinging very early in the innings. In such a scenario, the governing body needs to seriously consider scrapping the two new ball rule and facilitate the return of reverse swing to provide some form of ammunition to fast bowlers.

In recent times, limited-overs pitches in England have taken a turn for the worse. With no discernible grass covering, the evenly paced tracks are allowing batsmen to drive on the up remorselessly. After all, true aficionados of the game can consume incessant boundary-hitting only to a certain extent.

#2 Ali and Rashid thrive on scoreboard pressure

Moeen Ali removed Travis Head and Shaun Marsh in his successive overs

Scoreboard pressure is quite possibly one of the few remaining linkages between the formative years in ODI history and the contemporary white-ball run-fests. Having amassed 481, England's menacing batting lineup left the bowling counterparts in a cozy position.

While the pitch stayed conducive for shot-making, deflated spirits prevented Australia from posing any sort of challenge in the run-chase. The visitors' woes were further aggravated as England's spinners continued their stranglehold from the preceding matches.

Travis Head's blistering knock came to a rather premature end when Moeen Ali induced a loose shot. Shaun Marsh, centurion from Cardiff, succumbed to the wily off-spinner in the 15th over of the innings.

Whatever sliver of hope Australia might have had was snuffed out by Adil Rashid's enterprising spell. The leg-spinner made light work of the lower middle-order and embellished England's imperious victory. Between them, the spin pair accounted for seven wickets from 15 overs.

#1 Hapless Australia in unfamiliar territory

Australia have appeared bereft of answers to England's dominant showing

Since the inception of ODIs, Australia have often managed to set the precedent. Aside from a particularly treacherous phase in the early 1980s, they have largely stood out from the contemporaries through their archetypal hard-nosed brand of cricket.

After spending 34 years (some of those retrospectively) in the top five, Australia slipped to sixth in the ODI rankings at the end of the second ODI at Cardiff. The abominable performance at Trent Bridge gave another glimpse of their recent frailties in the 50-over format.

With ball-tampering and injuries ravaging the vast majority of their first-choice players, the once invincible Australian lineup is now sporting a feeble look. Even though the entirety of the bowling attack is likely to be different when the World Cup begins next year, the revamped team management should be really concerned by the meek body language whilst taking fire from the England batsmen.

Considering the hosts' assertiveness as well as their own lack thereof, there seems to be no respite for Tim Paine's team. If the next two matches go to script, Australia's issues could only intensify in the coming days.