Sun Sep 22 03:51:34 UTC 2024: ## England Crushed by Australia in Second ODI, Series 2-0 to Aussies
**Headingley, England:** Despite a passionate crowd at Headingley, England suffered a crushing 68-run defeat to Australia in the second ODI on Saturday, putting the Aussies 2-0 up in the five-match series.
The match started promisingly for England as they dismissed Australia for 259 in 45 overs, despite a spirited 74 from Alex Carey. However, England’s reply was riddled with early wickets, losing their top five batsmen for just 65 runs in the first ten overs.
A determined Jamie Smith (49) and Jacob Bethell (25) briefly steadied the ship with a 55-run partnership, but England ultimately fell short of the target.
Glenn Maxwell, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc, who all returned to the Australian side, were instrumental in the victory.
England captain Harry Brook acknowledged the team’s inexperience and attributed the loss to a poor start and a lack of momentum. “We’re an inexperienced team playing against one of the best sides in the world,” Brook said. “It’s about patience, we’re only two games in. Obviously we lost early wickets in the powerplay and that killed us.”
Meanwhile, Australian wicketkeeper-batsman Alex Carey highlighted the importance of momentum in ODI cricket. “Not much has to change for everything to change,” Carey said. “They [England] are still a highly skilled bunch of players, but that’s one-day cricket, your momentum is key, at the moment we’ve got the momentum.”
The series continues on Tuesday in Chester-le-Street, with England looking to salvage some pride and avoid a clean sweep.
First Piper 