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Louise Thomas

Editor

Harry Brook relegated another Australia wicketkeeper controversy at Lord’s to a mere subplot with a sparkling 87 off 58 balls to lift England to 312 for five in the must-win fourth ODI.

Brook, England’s stand-in captain for the series, was given out on 17 after being strangled down leg by Mitchell Starc but an umpire’s review determined the ball had bounced before reaching Josh Inglis.

Jeers rang around the ground, harking back to Alex Carey’s controversial stumping of Jonny Bairstow at this ground in last year’s Ashes, but Brook ignored the minor drama to follow up his maiden ODI hundred at Chester-le-Street this week to reduce Australia’s lead to 2-1 with another substantial knock.

Brook hit the ground running after England had been straitjacketed in a contest reduced to 39 overs per side because of rain, with Phil Salt and Will Jacks both miscuing to point cheaply.

Brook shared stands of 79 with Ben Duckett (63 off 62 balls) and 75 with Jamie Smith (39 off 28) before Liam Livingstone’s thrilling unbeaten 62 off 27 deliveries, including 28 in Mitchell Starc’s final over.

Starc and Josh Hazlewood were initially superb after England were asked to bat under murky skies more than two hours after the scheduled start time, exploiting helpful conditions to initially subdue Salt and Duckett.

Duckett was dropped on nought by Starc one-handed in his follow through then survived an lbw review on 10, with the ball trimming the bails.

Duckett, though, seemed more assured than Salt, who departed after skewing Hazlewood low to Labuschagne, while Jacks did the same in Marsh’s first bowling spell since the 2023 World Cup final.

Brook was purposeful from the off, using his feet and manipulating the field, but when he inside edged to Inglis, who took the gloves off Carey, the umpire’s finger went up.

A close-up replay showed the ball grazed the turf on the way through and the decision was reversed, prompting the ‘same old Aussies, always cheating’ chant that became a hallmark of last year’s Ashes.

Brook refused to let the issue bog him down and after Duckett thrashed Adam Zampa, back after illness, over long-on en route to fifty, the Yorkshireman smeared back-to-back fours off the leg-spinner.

Zampa had a measure of revenge when Duckett top-edged a sweep to Sean Abbott but was then belted in his next over for sixes by Smith then Brook over the leg-side.

Zampa conceded 66 from eight overs but there was a silver lining as he accounted for Brook, unable to get the elevation to clear Glenn Maxwell in the deep when another ton seemed there for the taking.

Smith lost his shape trying to take on Maxwell and sliced to Hazlewood but Livingstone closed the show with a special finisher’s innings, thumping seven of England’s dozen sixes – a Lord’s record in an ODI.

Four of them came in Starc’s last over just as England looked likely to fall short of 300, with Livingstone swinging hard and freely en route to a 25-ball fifty – the fastest at Lord’s.

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