Fight for the No.1 Ranking going into Champions Trophy......

Champions trophy

This is going to be really Interesting. If Australia defeats England in the last ODI, and clinches the series 7-0, then they will retain the No.1 ranking in the ODI Format, and will enter the Champions Trophy at the top of the helm. But if they loose, they go back to the No.3 slot behind the South Africans and the Indian Team. All to play for in the last ODI. Phew.

Coming back to the Aussies tour to England, one cannot restrain one self to praise the mental toughness of the Australians to have come back in such a rollicking fashion to be stationed at 6-0, in the ODI series, considering that they lost the Ashes just the last month.

In the 6th ODI played at the Trent Bridge on the Thursday Night it was a century from rookie wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Paine that helped them (Australia) to a crushing 111-run victory over the hosts (England).

For the records sake a 7-0 whitewash has never been achieved before by any team. So its all the more motivating for the Aussies to go for the Kill.

The 24-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman has got off to a flying start in an Australia shirt as he has seamlessly filled in for injured first-choice keeper Brad Haddin at the top of the order.

After making his debut in the win against Scotland last month, Paine is yet to taste defeat in seven one-day internationals for his country.

Australia batting first made a mammoth Total of 296/8 in their alloted 50 overs, with Tim Paine and Mike Hussey coming to the party scoring 111 and 65 respectively. For the English it was James Anderson who bowled well with figures of 10-0-55-4.

The English made a terrible start to the run chase with captain Andrew Strauss getting out on a second ball duck, and at one stage England reeling at 100-5. You don’t chase such formidable targets by loosing wickets at the regular intervals. It was overall a bad day for the hosts at the office with nothing going right for them from the very starting be it in Bowling, Fielding or even batting.

Going in the last ODI, at the Chester-le-Street, the English team will have to pull up their socks and come up with a motivational and enthusiastic performance if they don’t want to face the 7-0 ODI whitewash.