ENG vs AUS, 2nd T20I: Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell power England to series-tying win over Australia

Cardiff: Liam Livingstone and Jacob Bethell shared ninety runs off 47 balls to lead England to a series-tying 2d T20I win over Australia at Sophia Gardens. The series may be decided on Sunday at Old Trafford. Set 194 to win, England slipped to seventy nine/three when Phil Salt walked into an apparent trap laid by fellow stand-in captain Travis Head, holing out to Matthew Short, but Livingstone and Bethell broke the back of the chase.

Bethell’s dismissal for forty four off 24 balls with the finish line in sight disrupted England but Livingstone carried them to the brink of victory with an out of the ordinary 87 off 47, including five sixes and six fours. He was once bowled with the scores tied and Brydon Carse senselessly slogged at some point of the air next ball to give part-timer Short, who had previously taken best two international wickets, a shock maiden professional five-wicket haul.

Nonetheless, Adil Rashid steered to backward point for the single England needed for a three-wicket win with six balls to spare and to tie the series 1-1. Livingstone, in his Fiftieth T20, earlier took 2-sixteen from three overs while Carse, barely a fortnight on from his return to cricket after a three-month ban for breaching making a bet regulations, also impressed with a couple of wickets as he filled in for Jofra Archer, breaching ninety mph (145 kph).

Head, the skipper at some point of the absence of an unwell Mitch Marsh, was once more electric on the pinnacle of the order with 31 off 14 balls while Jake Fraser-McGurk’s 50 — his first international fifty — was once followed by Australia plundering 60 from the final five overs to finish on 193/6.

Salt began the reply before everything watchful, then belted three successive leg-side sixes off Aaron Hardie earlier than Sean Abbott silenced the gang with two wickets in three balls. Will Jacks lower than-cooked a pull on 12 and Abbott’s nip-backer breached Jordan Cox’s defences. Livingstone was once beaten by a beauty first up after which survived a review for lbw in an eventful over.

Undeterred, Livingstone cleared deep midwicket off Marcus Stoinis then got some payback on Abbott with three fours in an over as England closed to within two of Australia’s powerplay score, aided by a couple of fumbles on the rope by Fraser-McGurk.

Head’s gamble to introduce Short’s part-day without work-spin reaped rewards, with Salt miscuing to fall for 39 off 23 balls. Requiring 104 from the last 10 overs, Livingstone put the hammer down, scooping Cameron Green for six earlier than twice depositing Stoinis into the gang for a 27-ball fifty.

Bethell got into the act with a swing off slow left-armer Cooper Connolly earlier than taking down Australia’s premier spinner Adam Zampa. Bethell, in only his 2d T20, used his feet brilliantly to disrupt Zampa’s rhythm and took him for four-6-four-four. But with 25 needed off the last four overs, he missed a reverse sweep off Short.

Short snared Curran at some point of the same over and while Livingstone belted a six then a four off the spinner to level the scores, both he and Carse blotted their copybook earlier than Rashid got England home.