Duckett, Brook shine but England collapse to spin in series decider

Ben Duckett put together an excellent century • AFP

Bristol, September 29:

England 309 (Duckett 107, Brook 72, Head 4-28) vs Australia

Ben Duckett motored to a second ODI hundred and for half their innings England looked destined for a monstrous total in Bristol but, for the second time in the series, they suffered a major collapse against Australia's collection of spinners to such an extent that the last-wicket pair were left trying to see out the overs.

A ferocious stand of 132 off 98 balls between Duckett and Harry Brook brought up England's 200 in the 25th over but from the moment Brook's onslaught against Adam Zampa ended the innings fell apart. Steven Smith, who was standing in as captain for a sore Mitchell Marsh, used 23 consecutive overs of spin - and 28 off the last 29 in total - while using eight bowlers in all although Adil Rashid played a vital hand to lift England over 300.

After 2.2 overs Zampa's figures read 0 for 42 but he became a significant threat on a dry surface that offered increasing help to the spinners. Travis Head winkled out a List A best of 4 for 28, including the key scalp of Duckett for a 91-ball 107, the highlight of which had been how quickly he picked up length against the quicks early on, a trademark of his batting during a productive home summer. Yet such was the change of momentum that England only one boundary between the 27th and 43rd overs.

Quite how much of Australia's innings will have a chance to be completed remained uncertain, though, with a bleak forecast for later: 20 overs will be needed for a match. At the end of a tour marked by illness and injury they had again been forced to shuffle their pack after Marsh pulled up sore after Lord's where he bowled for the first time since early April. Aaron Hardie also returned in place of Sean Abbott, who had endured an expensive series, and Cooper Connolly was handed an ODI debut.

Phil Salt set the tone - for himself and the team - in the opening over which included three boundaries off Mitchell Starc and two plays and misses. It meant, at that moment, Starc's last two overs of the series had cost 40 following his pasting at the hands of Liam Livingstone at Lord's. Salt continued to alternate between missing and connecting, outside edging a swish over deep third for six against Starc before a brace of far more convincing sixes against Hardie's first two deliveries which brought up England's fifty in the seventh over.

But Hardie, who was playing as the third and only other pace option behind Starc and Josh Hazlewood, struck back for Australia. Firstly, he had Salt well taken at deep point by Marnus Labuschagne, the ball after adjusting the field, then produced a gem of a delivery to clean up Will Jacks for a duck.

There were a few overs of consolidation from England before Brook scooped his first boundary off Hazlewood from his ninth delivery then he continued the team's approach of being aggressive to Zampa by ending his first over with a four and six; a delightful late cut which drew comparisons to Mahela Jayawardene by Eoin Morgan on commentary then a blow to the short, straight boundary.

Much more was to come from Brook when he took three further sixes from Zampa's second over leaving him with 2-0-30-0 from his first spell and Smith searching for options. Duckett went to his fifty from 45 balls and Brook raced to the mark from 39 with another six over the leg side against Hardie.

Brook took his sixes tally to seven with another back-to-back brace off Zampa when he returned for the start of his second spell and had the attack at his mercy. But then came a break for Australia when Brook miscued Zampa down the ground and found Glenn Maxwell at long-off.

Maxwell continued to do an excellent job with the ball, finding significant grip from the surface, and pushed one through Jamie Smith. Zampa then found Livingstone's top edge with one that turned and bounced and all of a sudden, the lower middle-order was exposed.

The onus was on Duckett to try and guide the remainder of the innings as he brought up an outstanding century. Both he and Jacob Bethell held themselves back for a period, but after sending Head's third ball over long-on Duckett tried a repeat and skewed a catch to long-off which meant Brydon Carse was walking in during the 34th over.

Head then turned deliveries sharply to have Bethell stumped and Carse lbw, leaving Rashid to nurse the total towards 300 with a very sensible innings as the rain started to fall.