Jos Buttler's pyrotechnics set England up for finale against Australia

Jos Buttler's pyrotechnics set England up for finale against Australia | Mike Selvey

by Mike Selvey
Cricket news, scores and fixtures | Sport | The GuardianToday,

England's hard-hitting wicketkeeper comes good and injuries hit Australia before final one-day international

Jos Buttler's rousing charge to the line in Cardiff on Saturday to clinch the penultimate one-day international of the summer has given England a chance of winning a rain-sodden series that, after the Old Trafford drubbing, might have seemed unlikely. Should they win the final match at the Rose Bowl they will not only take the honours for the second time this season, after the Ashes win, but will maintain their position as second in the ODI rankings, behind India and ahead of Australia who, should they win, would leapfrog them. Given his convoluted logic that seems to say Australia would have won the Test series but for a series of unfortunate mishaps such as losing wickets, Darren Lehmann might just be tipped over the edge if England steal this.

But while Lehmann might say some things that are, at best, ambiguous, it is what he is doing that is more important and the excellent effect he has had since taking over from Mickey Arthur is self-evident. From the Champions Trophy and the pre-tour shambles, he has crafted a team that is already extremely competitive. What he has yet to instil, though, is the capacity to seize the day, to win consistently the moments that matter. It was missing during the Ashes, and it was again in Cardiff, where the wicketkeeper, Matthew Wade, unfathomably fumbled the most straightforward of catches, and run-out chances were spurned. In other words, the disease that once inflicted England has been passed to Australia.

Now there is one final chance to make some small amends for what had become an annus horribilis. They will do so without two key players, however. Shaun Marsh left the field in Cardiff with a hamstring strain and will not play. Of more concern, though, will be the absence of the captain, Michael Clarke, whose chronic back condition, that at one time threatened to prevent him from participating in the tour at all, has returned to haunt him right at the end. His century at Old Trafford was instrumental in Australia's win there, but the condition of his back may go a long way to explaining the manner of his batting in Cardiff. Their former pace bowler Dirk Nannes suggested during a radio commentary stint it was perhaps to do with him being windy against the pace and bounce of Steve Finn and Boyd Rankin, which seemed an impertinent remark given Clarke's achievements in the game.

With minimal foot movement, Clarke threw the bat at pretty much anything outside off stump before falling to the slenderest of lbw decisions. He may have taken a view in any case that in a one-day game aggression, even recklessness, was not a bad way to go on a pitch offering as much to the bowlers as it was, but batting is extremely difficult if mobility is impaired as well. Fear, one feels, would have been a considerable way down the list. Clarke and Marsh will be replaced by Phil Hughes and Glenn Maxwell.

It would be easy to argue, given the way the Cardiff pitch played, that England won despite their selection. That the depth of their batting got them through in the end is undeniable, even if it could equally be argued that another pace bowler might have made the target that much easier in the first place. But teams have to be picked on the basis that the toss could be lost as well as won and the inclusion of James Tredwell, even on a ground with small, straight boundaries, offered some second innings insurance. Given the nature of the win, and the fact that the series is very much alive, it would be odd if they were not to persist with the same XI for the final match.

As for England, there were good things to emerge from the Cardiff match: Buttler's calculated calmness under pressure, reminiscent of Eoin Morgan, and the support of Ben Stokes; the manner in which Michael Carberry and Morgan rebuilt the innings after Clint McKay's hat-trick; the bowling of Finn and Rankin. Finn's obsession with attempting to swing the ball away looks finally to have been jettisoned, which will delight the England bowling coach, and he is bowling with pace and renewed accuracy as a result. For Rankin, this series has been a shop window. His pace and lift have impressed and, given that there will not be room for both, he will now have a real chance of making the Ashes squad instead of Chris Tremlett.

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England v Australia limited-overs internationals 2013
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Mike Selvey