Ravi Bopara starred with bat and ball as England routed Australia by seven wickets in the fifth and final one-day international at Old Trafford here on Tuesday to complete a 4-0 series win
It was the heaviest defeat ever suffered by Australia, still the world number one in the 50-over game, in any head-to-head limited overs series.
England completed a rare 4-0 rout after the D/L method was applied in the fifth ODI at Manchester. Bopara again came good with 52.
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Man-of-the-match Bopara took two wickets for eight runs in four overs with his medium-pacers as England’s attack held Australia to 145 for seven in an innings reduced by rain to 32 overs.
Then, after a further rain break saw England set a revised victory target of 138 in 29 overs, Bopara made 52 not out off 56 balls with five fours.
Together with England captain Alastair Cook, who made 58, he shared a stand of 92 in 98 balls that took the team to the brink of victory.
And when Eoin Morgan struck the winning runs England — who’ve now won 10 one-dayers in a row — had triumphed with 11 balls to spare.
And had it not been for a washed-out third match at Edgbaston, England might have been looking at a 5-0 clean sweep.
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