David Warner recovered from a nasty fall but could not overcome an England attack that strangled Australia to claim the second Twenty20 match and the series in Canberra on Wednesday night.
England’s cleaner fielding ensured victory by eight runs to go 2-0 up with Friday’s game remaining at Manuka Oval. Set 179 to win, Australia were held to 6-170 after threatening to demolish England’s batting earlier in the night.
Warner appeared dazed as he fell heavily attempting to catch a six off England slasher Moeen Ali on the point boundary, and spent time sitting on the ground before leaving the field for treatment.
The dynamic opener managed just four from 11 balls before skying a slog to leg, contrasting with his most recent rapid innings of 73 against England and 75 against the West Indies.
Dawid Malan set up England’s victory with a polished 82 in 49 balls, including seven fours and four sixes.
England’s new batting coach, former Australia star Mike Hussey, had a talismanic impact on England’s top scorer.
Mitch Marsh makes it to the crease just in time at Manuka Oval.Credit:Getty
Hussey presented Malan with a special cap for his 50th T20 international in the team huddle before play. The England star went on to bat with the same unhurried style as the famous fellow left-hander.
Malan showed why he was once ranked the leading batsman in T20 cricket, and is still listed at six on the International Cricket Council table, the highest of any player in the game.
Australia captain Aaron Finch is ranked seventh but managed just 13 from as many balls, presenting a simple catch to Ben Stokes at mid-off.
While his scores in T20 cricket remain respectable despite poor form forcing Finch to retire from one-day cricket, he remains a long way from his best.
There were some hard-hitting cameos from the Australians, most notably Mitch Marsh’s 45 from 29 balls, and Tim David’s 40 from 23 balls, pushing Steve Smith further from the team.
But Glenn Maxwell (eight from 11 balls) failed again, undone in familiar fashion by a short ball he swatted to deep square leg. Such an important part of Australia’s T20 set-up, Maxwell has scored just 108 from his past 12 white-ball innings.
In an incident-free match, where combative wicketkeeper Matthew Wade avoided showing off the shepherding skills which caused such controversy in the opening game, England rested his Perth combatant, express bowler Mark Wood.
He proved the difference between the teams in Perth on the fast, true surface, but it was off-pace deliveries on the slower Manuka Oval pitch that created the most problems for batsmen.
It appeared England would be mugged by reality as Australia’s first-choice attack was recalled.
After being rested for Australia’s fly-in, fly-out match in Perth on Sunday, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Adam Zampa, Australia’s four leading T20 wicket takers, were all recalled along with Maxwell.
Having hammered an opening partnership of 132 from just 11.2 overs against a second-string attack in the opening game, England slumped to 4-54 from 8.1 overs.
But sloppy fielding cost Australia the chance to take a stranglehold on the game.
Four catches went down in all, the most damaging when Maxwell missed the dangerous Ali when he was on three.
Close at backward point, Maxwell was unable to wrap his upturned hands around a heavy slash that flew off the bat.
With a strike rate of 147 in T20 internationals he is always a threat, and so it proved as he thrashed 44 in 27 balls with two sixes and four fours in a game-changing partnership of 92 in 8.4 overs with Malan, as England took 108 from the last 10 overs.
By the time David caught Ali at long-off, England had escaped and were on the way to a competitive score.
It was a relieved David who took the simple chance after botching a high chance in the same position off Malan on 54.
David showed his inexperience at the top level, bunting the ball over the boundary for six after moving in too far.
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