Tait inspires Australia to victory over England

LONDON: Fast-bowler Shaun Tait led Australia to a 42-run win over England in the fifth and final One-Day International (ODI) at Lord’s as they reduced the hosts’ series-winning margin to 3-2.

England, chasing 278, were rocked by an early double strike from Tait as they collaped to 19 for two and their innings never really recovered despite Paul Collingwood’s gutsy 95.

Man of the match Tait, who also fired in a more than a 100 miles per hour delivery,  finished with figures of four wickets for 48 runs, ending the match with 21 balls to spare when Graeme Swann holed out to mid-off as England finished on 235 all out.

And Australian captain could not stop praising his bowler. “Very few blokes in the world can do what Shaun can do with the ball,” Ponting told reporters.

Tait was equally pleased with his performance, “I’m pretty excited to be called up to the ODI side, I haven’t been in it for 12 months.”

Crucially, the often wayward Tait was accurate as well as fast and he knocked back England captain Andrew Strauss’s off-stump by several yards with a superb inswinger to the left-handed opener.

“It was disappointing we lost the last two matches, but we won the series so it’s something we should be proud of,” said Strauss.

“Tait was pretty quick and he got the ball swinging. It was up there with spells I’ve faced from Shoaib Akhtar and Brett Lee.”

All of Australia’s top four made starts but only opener Tim Paine, with 54, cashed in after Ponting won the toss. Meanwhile, Ponting, fresh from his 92 in Australia’s 78-run win at The Oval on Wednesday, got off the mark with a superb back-foot force through the covers for four off Broad. However, the 35-year-old’s recent vulnerability to the hook proved his undoing again when, on 15, he gloved a catch Craig Kieswetter.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 5^th, 2010.