Third T20I at Manuka Oval washed out; England take series 2-0

ENGLAND TOUR OF AUSTRALIA, 2022

Constant rain breaks at the Manuka Oval, on Friday, first reduced the third T20I between Australia and England contest to a 12-over-a-side affair before eventually bringing it to a halt with no result. England won the three-match series 2-0 and would fancy their chances heading into the T20 World Cup.

With stops and starts, Jos Buttler’s unbeaten 41-ball 65 helped England to 112 for 2 in 12 overs. After losing Alex Hales in the second over for a second-ball duck, Dawid Malan took the charge while Buttler coasted along slowly. 38 balls into the contest, play stopped due to rain, and two overs after it resumed, Malan fell trying to go after Pat Cummins’s slower delivery wide outside the offstump.

Another rain break followed soon and then Buttler took charge. The England opener went after Josh Hazlewood, welcoming him to his third over by creaming him for three successive boundaries and ending the onslaught with a six. Glenn Maxwell bowled a tidy last over to hand Australia a 130-run target.

Australia were pegged back early. Chris Woakes, off the first two deliveries of the innings, snapped the wickets of Aaron Finch and Mitchell Marsh. While Finch mistimed the shot to deep cover, Marsh got a leading edge to short third. Glenn Maxwell’s struggles continued as he tottered along to a 9-ball 8 before hitting to Stokes at mid off, handing Woakes his third wicket of the innings. Marcus Stoinis got into the act early, clubbing David Willey for a boundary and a six, but another rain spell halted Australia’s innings on 30 for 3 in 3.5 overs

Brief Scores:

England 112/2 in 12 overs (Jos Buttler 65*, Dawid Malan 23; Pat Cummins 1-23) vs Australia 30/3 in 3.5 overs (Chris Woakes 3-4) No Result.

(Cricbuzz)