England won the toss and chose to field.
Australia 290-5: M Clarke 99*, R Ponting 92. G Swann 1-31, S Broad 1-46. (50.0 overs)
England 212 all out: M Yardy 57, E Morgan 47. R Harris 5-32, D Bollinger 2-38. (42.4 overs)
Australia win by 78 runs.
Series: England 3-1 Australia.
Man of the Match: Ryan Harris (Aus).
Tbh, I wasn't really expecting an Aussie comeback. I know you can never underestimate the Aussies and they are certainly never out of it, but the way we bowled and they batted in the previous three matches I wasn't expecting them to comeback! Obviously adding Shaun Tait into their attack for Hauritz paid off tremendously - they were narrowly defeat in the 3rd match and won comfortably in the 4th. His firepower really does make their attack a lot stronger.
England bowled well at the start, Anderson and Bresnan not letting Australia get the good start they had in the previous games. Tim Paine's wicket fell easily and Shane Watson most certainly gave his away - the look on Ponting's face was like murder! But you can never celebrate the first Aussie wickets because then Punt and Michael Clarke come in - and they are superb batsman. They both batted away nicely, Ponting earning an excellent 92 before being caught by Strauss. In the process he passed 13000 runs in ODIs. I don't like the man the majority of the time, but there is no denying that that is an excellent feat and one he should be proud of. He really is one of the greatest batsmen of all time. Clarke was unfortunate not to get a century, but Steven Smith's big hitting at the end of the innings was important so I guess he wasn't too fussed!
England started well, again, before Craig Kieswetter was bowled by Ryan Harris. This was the third match in a row he'd been bowled out - first by Josh Hazlewood, then Shaun Tait, and now Harris! Next Pietersen scored 2 excellent drives for 4, before being out lbw. On first sight I was actually really angry with the decision, a bit like KP! But after seeing it again in slow mo, I agree it was actually out :') Next Strauss was caught and Collingwood was out lbw off Smith - this time it was nowhere near out, bad decision Aleem Dar! We were 90-4 before Eoin Morgan came in and hit two sixes in a row, and it looked like he was to rescue the innings. But he was caught behind by Paine, then Luke Wright was bowled from an offside spinner by Steven Smith, and after a good partnership between Michael Yardy and Tim Bresnan, the end looked in sight. Bres and Yardy took the powerplay - the only way we would score enough. Bresnan hit a high ball, aiming for a six before he was caught, and after making a good half century, Yardy was caught for 57. Swann and then Broad fell and the match was over.
I was hoping for a whitewash but I guess it just never happened - Strauss himself said the team lost wickets too early and they were reverting back to old habits. I'm hoping the series ends 4-1 now, which just happens to be the same scoreline that we were beaten by in the World Cup...
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