Paine inflicts more anguish on England by CricketArchive Staff Reporter

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Ground:	Trent Bridge, Nottingham
Scorecard:	England v Australia
Player:	TD Paine, MEK Hussey, TT Bresnan
Event:	Australia in British Isles 2009

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DateLine: 17th September 2009

 

Australian keeper-batsman Tim Paine scored his maiden international century as Australia continued to inflict misery upon England with a crushing 111-run. Paine's 111 helped Australia score 296/8 in their 50 overs while England got dismissed for 185, with nine overs to spare.

 

For the first time in the series Strauss found himself at the wrong end off the toss and the Australian skipper did not have any hesitation in batting first. The English bowling attack bolstered by the return of Anderson struck early removing Watson and Ponting as the Australian squad read at 40 for 2 at the end of the ninth over. Paine was joined at the crease by Hussey who has so far looked way below his beat throughout the one-day leg of the tour. Today however with time on his side he began to look solid and a ominous for the English team. Paine on the other hand with the early boundaries he collected looked well settled at the crease. Hussey weathered an uncertain period that he faced against Mascarenhas and once he was able to comprehend the pace and bounce off the pitch he began to unleash some thumping shots all around the park.

 

Both the batsmen mixed caution with aggression as they also employed the short singles to confuse the English team. Paine began to essay some classy shots on both sides off the square as the English skipper Strauss scratched his head for answers. A couple of sharp chances just eluded keeper Prior when Paine was in the initial stages off his innings. Once the bowling Powerplays were done with the batsmen relied on the singles that were available to them courtesy the open spaces that were available to them. The pair added 163 in 31.2 overs as they punished the erring English bowlers severely.

 

Paine scored his maiden one-day century in his sixth match of his career and once a fully fit Haddin returns to the team it is evident that it will pose a headache to the selectors. The right-handed keeper-batsman has being tidy behind the stumps and also now he has shown to be effective with the bat. With age on his side he looks to have a bright future for him. On the other hand, Hussey’s would have been on the chopping block had he failed to deliver in this match. With several players breathing down his neck especially Callum Ferguson, it was time for him to show his worth to the side. Hussey's and Paine’s dismissal gave away the momentum as the tourists lost 3 for 17 in 24 deliveries. However, a late surge from James Hopes and Cameron White allowed the Australians to take 54 runs from their final Powerplay helping Australia to score 296 in their 50 overs.

 

England's run-chase began disastrously when Andrew Strauss was ruled out caught behind. Prior was caught off-guard at the non-striker's end by an accurate Ponting and in a short while Bopara too became Ponting’s victim after a mix-up with Owais Shah. When Eoin Morgan fell with the England total on 100, another defeat was imminent. The rest of the batting caved in meekly with only Bresnan crossing the 30 run mark.