Australia beat England by three wickets to win ODI series – live reaction!

4.44pm EDT 16:44

One last email, or two

Here’s Adam Peake. “Buttler drops Blackwood, West Indies win the first Test of the summer,” he notes. “Buttler drops Maxwell, Australia win the final game of a wonderful summer of cricket. Thanks for all your commentary and writing, great stuff. Be well.” Thanks, you too.

And here’s Lola Jones. “I was trying to finish writing my personal statement for my uni application,” she says, “but was instead glued to my phone the last few hours hoping England would make it! So much for getting it finished before the last minute.” The last minute is the very best time to do it. Never mind uni – you have a bright future as a live-blogger.

4.37pm EDT 16:37

The heroes of 2020

So the series went to the last over, and the summer went to the last warm September evening. Immense credit goes to the ECB and their overseas counterparts, to Manchester and Southampton, to Lancashire and Hampshire CCC, to two overworked groundsmen, and even (grudgingly) to the English weather.

To Jason Holder and Ben Stokes, the captains who got the ball rolling, and all the others who tossed a coin or changed the bowling – Joe Root and Eoin Morgan, Andy Balbirnie, Azhar Ali and Babar Azam, and Aaron Finch, who became the only one of those visiting captains to win a series. All of them were dignified, statesmanlike, and straightforward – can they please run for office in due course?

Credit too to Sky and the BBC, which brought cricket back to a wide audience. To all the commentators, led by Michael Holding and Ebony Rainford-Brent with their superb testimony for Black Lives Matter. To all the fans who couldn’t be there, but were absolutely there in spirit, cheering on Woakes and Buttler, Anderson’s 600th and Broad’s 500th, Zak Crawley’s 267. I’m in grave danger of thanking everyone, as people do at the Oscars. And the winner is … cricket.

Thanks for reading, for writing, for following and for caring. It’s been a treat.

Updated at 5.19pm EDT

4.28pm EDT 16:28

A reader’s summary of the summer

“So much,” says Jota Jony, “for my observation of this being an anticlimax. You were right to call this – amazing partnership which almost contrived to throw away, again! A strange gamble from Morgan but simply incredible, incredible!. A summer for the ages. Phew.” Nicely done. Are you after my job?

Updated at 4.28pm EDT

4.27pm EDT 16:27

The series belongs to Maxwell

Most of the match feels like it took place several days ago, but there are others who need mentioning in dispatches. Adam Zampa was very good (unlike his hair), luring Morgan and Buttler into soft dismissals, caught in the ring. Mitch Starc started the match by taking two wickets in two balls and finished it by walloping 11 off three. Chris Woakes batted beautifully and bowled well. Mark Wood took a great catch under the highest pressure. Eoin Morgan came out with two strokes of genius, bowling Root early and Rashid late (his third and final gamble, keeping Rashid on at the death, didn’t go so well). But the day belonged to Alex Carey and Glenn Maxwell. On Sunday one of them had been constipated and the other not even that, but today they were majestic, and they put together one of the all-time great one-day partnerships.

Maxwell, who made 77 in the first game, was pivotal to both Australia’s victories, and he deservedly wins Player of the Series. “I just feel really calm at the crease,” he says, which is a massive victory of another kind after his mental troubles.

Glenn Maxwell of Australia poses with the Royal London Player of the Series medal . Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images for ECB

Updated at 5.21pm EDT

4.17pm EDT 16:17

Damn cricket!

“Damn cricket,” says Kat Petersen. “I’m trying to have an extremely nice dinner in Jersey for my 40th birthday and we’re now glued to an app each in the hope that Australia won’t ruin the evening.” They haven’t ruined it! They’ve played an absolute blinder. (But also, happy birthday – hope you’re allowed more than five guests.)

Steve Waugh used to say that if you’re going to lose, at least make sure it takes a good performance to do it – and England did that, as Bairstow, Billings and Woakes rescued them from their worst-ever first two balls in an ODI. We’ve had 600 runs in the day, and the richest entertainment. We’ve even Joe Root collecting more wickets (two) than balls faced (one).

Updated at 4.20pm EDT

4.13pm EDT 16:13

Australia win! By three wickets, with two balls to spare

Starc, who got a golden duck on Sunday, is the hero here with six, one, and a sweep for four. England lose a home series, for once, as Australia seal the victory that Carey and Maxwell deserved with that fabulous partnership of 212.

Australia’s Mitchell Starc hits the winning shot. Photograph: Jason Cairnduff/Pool/AP Mitchell Starc (right) celebrates victory with Pat Cummins. Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Imagesfor ECB

Updated at 4.37pm EDT

4.11pm EDT 16:11

49.3 overs: Australia 301-7 (Cummins 4, Starc 7) Single to Cummins. England are desperate for a dot.

4.10pm EDT 16:10

49.2 overs: Australia 300-7 (Cummins 3, Starc 7) Starc loft-wafts Rashid for… a single. Three needed off four. The gamble isn’t working.

4.10pm EDT 16:10

49.1 overs: Australia 299-7 (Cummins 3, Starc 6) After a superb over from Archer, Morgan goes with … Rashid! And Starc hits his first ball for six! Unbelievable. Australia’s to lose now.

Australia’s Mitchell Starc (left) hits the ball for six runs in the final over. Photograph: Jason Cairnduff/Pool/AFP/Getty Images

Updated at 4.15pm EDT

4.07pm EDT 16:07

Wicket!! Carey c Wood b Archer 106 (Australia 293-7)

49th over: Australia 293-7 (Cummins 3, Starc 0) Cummins squeezes another single, doing his duty, giving Carey the strike. Morgan is taking his time. Archer bowls a wide-ish one and gets away with it as Carey strikes thin air. And again – but this is a wide, just. Ten needed from seven. And Carey is caught!! At third man, by Wood – a fabulous diving take, off the very shot that nearly did for Carey all those hours ago. You couldn’t make this up. Australia need ten off the last over.

Mark Wood of England takes the catch to dismiss Alex Carey of Australia. Photograph: Stu Forster/Getty Images

Updated at 4.13pm EDT

4.03pm EDT 16:03

Mid-49th over: Australia 291-6 (Carey 106, Cummins 2) Cummins takes another single as Archer returns. Carey drives, handsomely, but Tom Curran at mid-off saves three. Archer strikes Cummins on the arm – ouch. Australia need 12 off nine.

4.01pm EDT 16:01

48th over: Australia 289-6 (Carey 105, Cummins 1) Carey sweeps Rashid for two, then pokes for a single. Australia need 15 from 13 as Pat Cummins faces his first ball, after sitting through a stand of 212. Cummins manages a single, down the ground. Terrific stuff from Rashid, and Morgan, but Australia are still in the driving seat. They need 14 from 12 balls.

3.58pm EDT 15:58

Wicket!! Maxwell c Curran b Rashid 108 (Australia 285-6)

Maxwell top-edges Rashid – twice! And the second one is an easy chance for Tom Curran (who juggles it) at backward point. The gamble has paid off. End of a great innings.

Australia’s Glenn Maxwell watches the ball … Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Pool/Reuters Which ends up in the hands of England’s Tom Curran. Photograph: Jason Cairnduff/Reuters

Updated at 4.09pm EDT

3.55pm EDT 15:55

47th over: Australia 282-5 (Carey 101, Maxwell 106) Somewhere in there, Woakes beats Carey outside off, but again the edge eludes England Australia need only 21 now, off three overs, so the rate is down to a very manageable seven. England can only get back into this by taking wickets. And Rashid is loosening up! Not Root?

3.53pm EDT 15:53

And Carey’s hundred!

Another ball, another milestone. Carey shovels to leg for a single and he has 100 off 106. Since he got to 40, he’s been excellent, cool and calm.

3.52pm EDT 15:52

The 200 partnership!!

Brought up by a six from Carey, off Woakes. This is phemonenal.

3.51pm EDT 15:51

46th over: Australia 271-5 (Carey 93, Maxwell 103) Throw in a few singles and that’s 11 off Curran’s over. The partnership is 197 – scarcely believable. That no-ball is looking horribly expensive, although the delivery from Archer might not have drawn the error if it had been bowled from a few inches further back. Australia need 32 from 24 balls, and they are firm favourites now.

3.48pm EDT 15:48

Maxwell’s silver hundred

Needing five to reach his century, Maxwell lofts Curran for six. He goes to 101 off 84 balls with seven sixes and four fours. He’s been immense.

Maxwell hits a six to reach a century. Photograph: Jason Cairnduff/Reuters

Updated at 3.57pm EDT

3.45pm EDT 15:45

45th over: Australia 260-5 (Carey 90, Maxwell 95) It’s a double change as Woakes returns. The plan is off-cutters, but these two have got their eyes so well in now, they can adjust. The closest England get to some joy is an appeal for a run-out as Sam Billings fires in an Exocet from deep square, but Carey’s dive is equal to it. Australia need 43 off 30 balls, and both men are in the nineties. Please can they be nervous.

“In reply to Geoff Wignall,” says Brian Withington, “can I suggest a third lesson of the summer without endorsing the second – #3 Buttler to hang up the tin gloves in all forms.” Ouch.

Updated at 3.46pm EDT

3.40pm EDT 15:40

44th over: Australia 252-5 (Carey 86, Maxwell 91) It’s Curran, after a lengthy conference, at which he is joined by Woakes and Archer as well as Morgan. His over goes dot, one, appeal for caught behind (off the hip), one – and then a four, as Maxwell waits for a slower ball and carves it over mid-off. One more single, and even a good over has gone for seven. The force is with Australia: Obi Eoin is going to have to pull out something special.

“This evening,” says someone on Twitter, “marks six months since theatres across the UK shut, due to Covid.” It’s a big worry, what’s happening to the arts. But the theatre is alive and well – it’s just staging cricket matches.

3.33pm EDT 15:33

43rd over: Australia 245-5 (Carey 85, Maxwell 86) Morgan is sticking with pace at both ends, and it’s giving the batsmen something to work with. Maxwell tickles Wood for four, and then there are five singles. Australia need 58 from 42 balls. Time, surely, for Woakes or Curran – Bendicks Bittermints or liquorice allsorts.

3.29pm EDT 15:29

42nd over: Australia 236-5 (Carey 83, Maxwell 80) Archer follows Carey as he steps away to leg and is frustrated to find a wide called. Archer fights back with a yorker and a length ball, both dots. Carey, sensing the short one, steps away again and upper-cuts for four. A chip, not off the middle, but it lands safely for a single. A slower ball, and Maxwell slashes for two. Another yorker, arrow-straight, and Maxwell whips it for a single. Nine from the over. Australia need 8.38 off the remaining eight – 67 off 48 balls. This is riveting.

3.24pm EDT 15:24

41st over: Australia 227-5 (Carey 78, Maxwell 77) Carey cuts Wood for a single and that’s the 150 partnership, off 144 balls. Formidable stuff. But then Wood beats Carey outside off, angling it across him, and Maxwell too misses as he steps away to take a big swing. Five off the over – pretty good, Wood. Australia need 76 off 54 balls.

3.19pm EDT 15:19

40th over: Australia 222-5 (Carey 77, Maxwell 74) Morgan takes Rashid off and brings on Archer. He was the bowler who had Carey caught by Rashid at third man, only to find it was a no-ball. Carey plays the same shot again, with more control, and beats Rashid’s despairing sprint. Australia need 81 from the last ten overs. England badly need that wicket: they may have to turn to Root.

3.15pm EDT 15:15

39th over: Australia 216-5 (Carey 72, Maxwell 73) Morgan is checking with the umpire to see how many overs each bowler has left. The good thing about giving Root as many as eight is that it provides flexibility now: if anyone gets carted, Morgan can take him off. Wood’s radar has a wobble as he dishes up two wides, and Australia need 87 off 66 balls. You’ll never guess what England had at this stage: yes, 216-5.

“Evening Tim,” says Simon McMahon. “England on boundary count back after a Super Over?”

Updated at 3.15pm EDT

3.09pm EDT 15:09

38th over: Australia 209-5 (Carey 68, Maxwell 72) When Rashid tosses up his leg-break, Maxwell is beaten outside off, but he instantly forgets about that and lofts another six over midwicket. What an innings this is. Australia need 93 off 12 overs at a rate of just under eight. The PA, rising to the occasion, plays Talking Heads’ Psycho Killer.

3.05pm EDT 15:05

37th over: Australia 201-5 (Carey 67, Maxwell 65) Morgan summons Wood, but even his pace can’t bring the breakthrough. It’s as if all Morgan’s bowling-change magic was used up in those wickets for Root.

“Good evening Tim” Good evening to you, Geoff Wignall. “If England win this then thank goodness for Bairstow’s knock. Without it there might be no choice but to make Woakes man of the match and that would never do.” Ha.

“Lessons of the summer. #1 Buttler to bat at 6 in tests. #2 Buttler to open against the white ball. Has he made the Wisden 5 yet?” Yes! I wrote the piece myself.

Updated at 3.06pm EDT

3.00pm EDT 15:00

36th over: Australia 196-5 (Carey 64, Maxwell 64) Rashid continues, and Maxwell continues to looking like a man who sorely misses the old hotel buffet. He lifts the first ball for possibly the biggest six of the summer – over a sign that says “Fly better”. Can’t fly better than that. A few singles, and that’s ten off the over: Rash has gone for 40 off his five. Australia need 107 off 84 balls. England need wickets.

Here’s Brian Withington, bearing poetry. “A bit of warm weather at this time of year,” he says, “always has me recalling Thomas Hardy’s description of the Mayor of Casterbridge’s wife, Susan Henchard, enjoying a Martinmas in life – a late Indian summer of melancholic contentment. In passing, this is looking like a procession for Australia now. Surely they can’t fail to get across the line this time?” You’re not resorting to the curse of the commentator, are you?

2.55pm EDT 14:55

35th over: Australia 186-5 (Carey 62, Maxwell 56) Morgan gambles, as he does, by keeping Woakes on. The batsmen again treat him with respect, taking only two, so Australia need 117 off 90 balls. Perfectly feasible, if these two stay together for a bit.

2.51pm EDT 14:51

34th over: Australia 184-5 (Carey 61, Maxwell 55) Maxwell clonks Rashid, mis-timing it, but the single brings up the hundred partnership. And then he brings up his fifty with a six over the short boundary. It’s been a sparkling knock. That’s 12 off the over, and Australia need 119 off 16 overs. They’re almost the favourites now.

Updated at 2.53pm EDT

2.47pm EDT 14:47

33rd over: Australia 172-5 (Carey 57, Maxwell 47) Before getting into that bizarre tangle, Maxwell reached 3000 runs in ODIs. He’s a thrilling player on his day, and it has been his day twice in the past week. He and Carey take two singles each off Woakes, hoping to see him off for now. Australia need 131 off 17 overs.

2.42pm EDT 14:42

32nd over: Australia 168-5 (Carey 55, Maxwell 45) Adil, it turns out, was just changing ends. Maxwell goes for a big mow, misses or maybe nicks it, but Buttler can’t take it cleanly – and UltraEdge shows that it was dropped. Maxwell tries a reverse sweep, misses, falls over, and there’s a review for LBW, not given – it was plumb, but the ball hit the wristband (which counts as part of the glove), not the arm (which would have been out). Maxwell survives, even if his dignity doesn’t. And that’s drinks, with Australia threatening a classic heist.

Glenn Maxwell of Australia falls over whilst attempting a reverse sweep as Jos Buttler of England appeals for LBW. Photograph: Stu Forster/Getty Images for ECB

Updated at 2.52pm EDT

2.36pm EDT 14:36

31st over: Australia 163-5 (Carey 51, Maxwell 44) Adil Rashid only gets two overs, where Joe Root got eight. Interesting, Back comes Chris Woakes, and Carey plays a stylish pull to reach fifty off 58 balls. He’s been much better in the past ten minutes. Woakes, finding his mojo again, beats Maxwell outside off. This is now a good contest, and it may yet be the finale the summer of 2020 deserves.

2.32pm EDT 14:32

30th over: Australia 158-5 (Carey 46, Maxwell 44) Morgan, needing to make something happen, turns to Mark Wood. Carey enjoys the extra pace and uses it to steer for four through the slips, which are inexplicably vacant.

“How do you think [Lawrence] Booth will choose the five Wisden cricketers of the year?” wonders Rob Razzell. “How did you do it back in the day? I guessed four out of the five last year, but this year I’m stumped… Jason Holder… um… Tom Banton perhaps – what do you think?” Personally, I picked the people who had owned that year – Michael Vaughan and Adam Hollioake. Then, among the more marginal options, went for players who had built a big career – Nasser Hussain, Matthew Hayden and Shaun Pollock. Lawrence has a problem I didn’t have, in that most of England’s star players have already been chosen. Even so, I wouldn’t bet on Banton.

Updated at 2.35pm EDT

2.25pm EDT 14:25

29th over: Australia 151-5 (Carey 41, Maxwell 43) Rashid bowls a long hop and Maxwell can’t believe he’s pulled it to square leg for no run. His strike rate is 116, to Carey’s 80: Maxwell’s silver hammer is coming down on England’s head.

Updated at 2.35pm EDT

2.23pm EDT 14:23

28th over: Australia 146-5 (Carey 37, Maxwell 42) For a one-day specialist, Carey is not good at rotating the strike. After a row of dots, he finally manages to guide Curran to third man, whereupon Maxwell launches a pent-up on-drive for six. The fact that he comes in after Carey is looking like a miscarriage of justice. But they’re still there, and Australia are only two behind England at the same stage (148-4).

2.18pm EDT 14:18

27th over: Australia 139-5 (Carey 35, Maxwell 36) At last, Root comes off, giving way to England’s premier spinner, Adil Rashid. He makes a confident start before Carey sweeps him for a wind-assisted six that just evades Root at deep square. The partnership is 65 off 61 balls. England are still favourites, but…

2.15pm EDT 14:15

26th over: Australia 130-5 (Carey 29, Maxwell 34) Maxwell, facing Curran, plays the shot of the innings, a lovely delicate glide through a narrow gap at backward point.

John Vegancatering is back for more. “If your guess turns out to be true,” he writes, “imagine 5 tests in India! Could we all please make a small prayer for Leach and Rashid and Bess in the tour party?? At last England have some really good spinners, we must use them. All the best, John (my surname is not my job) Christiansen.” Ha. And let’s not forget Moeen Ali, who has taken plenty of Indian wickets in his time.

2.09pm EDT 14:09

25th over: Australia 122-5 (Carey 28, Maxwell 28) It’s Root again! I don’t believe it. Maxwell, after being tied down for two balls, tucks in with a straight six. Carey adds a late cut and that’s eight off the over. That’s the halfway stage, with Australia clawing their way out of a nightmare. And Morgan confounding everyone by giving Root nearly a third of the overs so far. “That’s enough I think,” says David Lloyd, gently.

Updated at 2.13pm EDT

2.06pm EDT 14:06

24th over: Australia 114-5 (Carey 27, Maxwell 21) Tom Curran finally concedes a run off his ninth ball as Carey, hemmed in, pulls out the reverse sweep. He’s not great at giving the strike back to Maxwell, but he redeems himself with a cuff for four past cover. The partnership is a promising 41.

2.02pm EDT 14:02

23rd over: Australia 108-5 (Carey 22, Maxwell 20) Morgan mysteriously rejects my advice and opts for one more over from Root, who bowls his first really amateurish ball – a half-tracker which is pulled for four by a grateful Carey. Root now has two for 38 off seven overs.

“Living in Sweden,” says Julian Menz, “I have followed the cricketing summer as closely as possible, and not always 100% legally (a big shout to our Sri Lankan neighbour and his forest of satelite bowls, antennae, and frankly rather dodgy links).” Ha.

“I can only echo others who have said much the same, but cheers to the West Indies, Pakistan, the Aussies, for making a summer of great cricket possible in these trying times. Even my 5-year-old daughter has taken to using her mini ice-hockey club as a cricket bat, and the local wildlife might well be surprised by the proliferation of bald tennis balls in the adjacent forest.” Not, presumably, the forest of dishes?

Updated at 2.02pm EDT

1.58pm EDT 13:58

22nd over: Australia 100-5 (Carey 16, Maxwell 18) At the other end, Archer has a breather, after bowling better than his figures (6-0-41-0) are willing to admit. On comes Tom Curran, bearing dots – five of them, as Alex Carey takes no risks. In fact, it’s a maiden. Maybe Carey has worked out that it’s all down to this partnership.

1.55pm EDT 13:55

21st over: Australia 100-5 (Carey 16, Maxwell 18) It’s still Root, who is threatening to do Adil Rashid out of a job, but not threatening the bat as much as he was. Time for a change.

So, Michael Klinski, you asked about England’s winter. Nothing is fixed yet, and prediction is even more of a mug’s game than usual, but the assumption is that England will tour India, for five Tests circa February. Maybe Sri Lanka as well, for the two Tests that were postponed in March; and maybe South Africa for some one-layers before Christmas. But nobody knows anything.

Updated at 1.55pm EDT

1.52pm EDT 13:52

20th over: Australia 95-5 (Carey 12, Maxwell 17) Carey celebrates his reprieve by swiping the free hit for three. And then Maxwell top-edges, almost deliberately, for four, over Jos Buttler’s head. Nine off the over, and maybe the Aussies see a glimmer at the end of the tunnel. That no-ball, by the way, was the first Jofra had ever bowled in an ODI.

1.49pm EDT 13:49

Non-wicket! Carey caught off a no-ball

Archer persuades Carey to steer to third man – but it’s a big no-ball. Is that a turning point?

1.48pm EDT 13:48

19th over: Australia 86-5 (Carey 9, Maxwell 12) Another good over from Root, who is threatening to bowl his full ten. I put it to you that he should be treated as an all-rounder in Tests, which will mean that England can replace Dom Bess with the more testing Jack Leach. And his glasses, which have now been immortalised by a nine-year-old.