England vs Australia 4th ODI: England Claim The Series With Easy Win

It was the Barmy Army all the way in Chester-Le-Street As England cruised to an easy 8 wicket win in the 4th ODI and also took an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the series. England have dominated Australia in all the games to take the series hands down. Steven Finn was the star of the match as he took 4 crucial wickets and destroyed the Australian top order. He was adjudged the Man of the Match for this performance.

England had won the toss and decided to bowl in the overcast conditions. England new ball bowlers, Anderson and Finn, took full advantage of the conditions. Finn struck first blood as he dismissed Warner and Forrest leg before wicket in successive deliveries. Australia were 6/2 in 6 overs. Watson and Clarke steadied the ship and added 51 for the 3rd wicket. Just when Australia were looking to get a move on, Watson chopped one onto the stumps off Bresnan. He scored 28. Bailey too did not last long and was outdone by a peach of a delivery by Bopara.

Finn was brought back into the attack and he responded instantly by rattling the stumps of the Aussie skipper Clarke. Wade was Finn's next victim when he was caught splendidly by Kieswetter behind the stumps of the very first ball. Australia were 96/6 in the 33rd over when Lee joined David Hussey in the middle. The two got the innings going together and took advantage of the batting powerplay as well. Lee smacked Anderson for a six over square leg before being hold out in the deep at long on. Lee and D.Hussey added 70 vital runs for the 7th wicket. Hussey(70) struck a few boundaries in the end to take Australia to 200/9 in their allotted 50 overs.

Australia had to take early wickets to stay in the match and their hopes lied on Brett Lee to a great extent. But Lee was taken out of the attack after suffering an injury. England got off  to an excellent start as Cook and Bell added 70 runs for the 1st wicket. Bell reached yet another half century and put on 66 runs with Trott before being bowled by McKay for 69. Trott and Bopara then ensured that England got to the target with ease and with 13 balls to spare. Trott finished with 64* in 102 balls. England won the match by 8 wickets.

       MATCH SUMMARY

AUSTRALIA	200/9 (50)
D.Hussey-70 (73)	Finn-4/37
Clarke-43 (85)	Anderson-2/34
Watson-28 (54)	Bresnan-2/46
Lee-27 (41)	Bopara-1/29

ENGLAND	201/2 (47.5)
Bell-69 (94)	McKay-2/29
Trott-64* (102)
Bopara-33*(47)
Cook-29 (46)