Glenn Maxwell said he had a leeway to attack bowlers after slamming a stunning century to guide Australia past England in the third ODI. England posted a mammoth 302 for seven on board after opener Johnny Bairstow scored 112 and Sam Billings and Chris Woakes complimented him by scoring fifties.
With Australia chasing 303 for victory in Manchester on Wednesday in the series-decer of the third and final ODI, Glenn Maxwell arrived at the crease with the tourists reeling at 73 for five in the 17th over.
But Glenn Maxwell (108 off 90 balls) and Alex Carey (106 off 114) combined for a 212-run partnership as Australia reached the target with two balls to spare. Both of them were dismissed in 48th and 49th over respectively but Aussies won the game by three wickets eventually.
Glenn Maxwell Wanted To Play Aggressively Early In The Innings
Glenn Maxwell, who scored his second ODI century and first since 2015, said he felt free to play his aggressive game with Australia in such a poor position.
“I was probably thinking that we haven’t got much to lose so I had a bit of freedom I suppose to try and take the bowling on and put a bit more pressure on them,” he told reporters.
“I thought if I could make the most of that short boundary as much as I could early on and just back my bat swing. There was a fair bit of a breeze heading that way as well so I just tried to get it up in the air and I was able to get a couple pretty clean early on in the innings and then hopefully start to build a partnership with Alex.”
“I knew once I started to get into the innings they would start to bowl a bit differently to me and I might be able to cash in on some loose balls, but everything pretty much went to plan.”
“The way our partnership built was outstanding so it was good fun out there and I’m really happy to get that result.”
Jonny Bairstow’s 112 had earlier helped England to reach 302-7 after they elected to bat first at Old Trafford but ended up on the losing side. Glenn Maxwell scored 186 runs in the three-match ODI series averaging 62 and was picked both Man of the Match and Man of the Series.
Eoin Morgan Said Australia Too Good For Them And Lost Despite Being In The Game
England captain Eoin Morgan accepted Australia were simply too good for his side.
“We were still in the game. When you break big partnerships and the ball is offering a bit, you’re never out of the game,” he said.
“But Australia were too good for us … we were right in the game but Carey and Maxwell played outstandingly well.”
Eoin Morgan who led England to their maiden World Cup win in 2019 could not live up to reputations as he scored only 88 runs in three innings and 12 runs in two T20Is that preceded the ODI series.
Jonny Bairstow who scored 196 runs in 3 matches was the leading run-scorer in the three-match ODI series ahead of Glenn Maxwell and Sam Billings.