Australia batted itself into a winning position before dramatically collapsing as England won the second one-day cricket international
Manchester: Australia batted itself into a winning position before dramatically collapsing as England won the second one-day cricket international by 24 runs to stay alive in the series.
England's decision to bat first at Old Trafford had appeared to backfire with the world champions limited to 231-9 and Australia reaching 143-2 with 20 overs left on Sunday.
Australia
Australia was making the run chase look easy with thanks to a 107-run stand for the third wicket between captain Aaron Finch (73) and Marnus Labuschagne (48). But the tourists then collapsed to 147-6, and 166-8, in Manchester before finishing 207 all out in 48.4 overs.
A trio of England pacers did the damage: Chris Woakes (3-32), Jofra Archer (3-34) and Sam Curran 3-35.
England captain Eoin Morgan said bringing Woakes and Archer back into the attack dramatically swung the game in the home team's favor.
"Jofra is obviously an ace and so is Woakesy. It's our strongest suit," Morgan said.
Australia vs England
"You like to bowl them in the most important parts of the game and I felt at the time I brought them back that was the most important part because the game was edging away from us.
"Finch and Marnus made it look easier than it was. So I threw everything at it and the guys bowled unbelievably well. When they bowl like that they make the captain look good."
Australia was aiming to wrap up a series victory after beating England by 19 runs in the first ODI last Friday, also in Manchester.
The series finale is at the same venue on Wednesday, when England will be hoping to avoid its first ODI series defeat at home since 2015.
