Read the article of Australia vs England Only ODI 1988 - England tour of Australia (Australian Bicentennial Match) one & only one-day international match played between England and Australia at Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne in 04th February 1988.
Opener Geoff Marsh's classy 87 and Bowlers shine as Australia comfortable 22-run victory over England in the one-off One-day international match.
Australia scored 235-6 in the alloted 48 overs with top scorer by Goeff Marsh struck 87 off 122-balls including 5-fours.
David Boon scored 33 off 63-balls including three boundaries, Dean Jones cracked a 30 off 47-balls included 2-fours, Steve Waugh 27 and Allan Border 19.
England best bowler by John Emburey took 2-wickets and one for David Capel - Phil DeFreitas.
England scored 213-8 in 48 overs with top scorer by Mike Gatting scored 37 off 47-balls including 2-fours.
Tim Robinson struck 35 off 51-balls including 5-fours, John Emburey 26, Chris Broad 25, Neil Fairbrother 22, Phil DeFreitas 21 and David Capel 18.
Australia best bowler by Mike Whitney, Simon Davis took 2-wickets, Tony Dodemaide, Peter Taylor and Steve Waugh each took one-wickets.
This match reported by Peter Deeley (Third Party Reference from The Daily Telegraph)
AFTER their disappointment in the Sydney Bicentennial Test England suffered a hat-trick of misfortunes in the follow-up one day international under the Melbourne floodlights.
Not only did Australia win by 22 runs to reinforce their World Cup final victory in Calcutta three months ago, but the tourists also added several names to their injury list and then received a £575 fine for failing to bowl their full 50 overs.
As that is the sum the losing side received in the game, Eng. land have not earned one extra penny for the doubtful privilege of playing in what was really a sop to Melbourne's injured pride at having lost the major festival game to its rival city.
Watched by a crowd of 54,159 England's opening bowlers were wildly erratic early on. In all they bowled an extra three overs in no balls and wides which accounted for the short-fall.
Without naming the guilty party Mike Gatting made clear afterwards his displeasure at such loose bowling. It was pleasing, however, that he singled out Paul Jarvis for a good performance.
Heavy cold Gatting played still suffering from a heavy cold after liberally dosing himself with medicines. Foster sees a specialist today about his knee injury, Bruce French was out of the game with bruised fingers, while Graham Dilley and Eddie Hemmings have minor groin troubles.
Then, during the match, Jarvis was off briefly having rubbed some skin off his toes, Tim Robinson bruised a finger trying to take a catch and Chris Broad spent much of the Australian innings stretched out in the dressing-room with ice packs for company having ricked himself throwing the ball. (We were assured the damage had not been caused by the effort that went into smashing the stumps in Sydney.)
With Australia winning the toss and batting first, Boon, the man in form with his 184 not out in the Bicentennial Test, was twice missed in the teens, Capel and Gatting failing_to pick up difficult chances. But Capel made amends when the score had reached 50, taking a low caught and bowled.
Jones and Marsh, had put on 63 in 86 balls when, with the score on 133, Jones tried to loft Emburey over the boundary but found Moxon waiting on the deep mid-off boundary. Then Veletta tried a repeat and this time Capel took the catch in almost exactly the same spot.
Marsh, the Man of the Match, was 87 when he tried a short run to Emburey at midwicket and the fielder, sideways on, broke the stumps with an under-arm throw, The Australian opener had batted for just over three hours.
Disgust at verdict
A very long accurate throw from Fairbrother accounted for Waugh for 27. It was a close call and the batsman showed his disgust at the verdict by batting his chewing gum away as he walked into the pavilion.
The last over saw Border hitting DeFreitas hard and high to the mid-on boundary. Gatting. running 16 paces with the ball coming over his shoulder, ran in and out of the shadow, before taking a catch which more than made up for several earlier uncharacteristic errors.
England got off to such a good start that it looked for a time enough to add 58 in under 15 overs, when Robinson failed to get to the pitch and was caught low down at mid-on. He had hit four boundaries in his 35.
Two overs later Broad, on 25. was caught behind off Waugh's first ball, and England were 65 for two. Broad was walking before the umpire's finger went up, a sign, perhaps, of a new leaf being turned over.
DeFreitas had been sent in at the fall of the first wicket, though with England up with the asking rate it was difficult to know why. He swung his bat to good effect, but the disasters continued at the other end with Athey out for only four, the victim of a catch at midwicket by Border.
Then DeFreitas, who had scored 21 off 27 balls, was run out, the victim of hesitation by Fairbrother, his new partner.
Falling behind the run rate England were quickly ruhning out of wickets too. and Fairbrother, who had never got on top of the bowling in his innings of 22, went down the wicket to Taylor and was easily stumped.
Gatting was fighting the battle almost single-handed against the Australian attack, and against his heavy cold, as he scampered up and down the wicket with Capel.
The England captain changed his shirt at the drinks break, but lost the services of Capel, after a partnership of 49 for the sixth wicket, caught trying a repeat big hit.
Then the captain himself went after a 66-minute innings in which he had scored a hard-worked 37. Just as he had caught the Australian captain, now the tables were turned by a superb catch from Border at cover off a full-blooded drive, one of those diving two-handed affairs that either sticks or rips your hands off. After that England perished almost silently.
Gatting perhaps thought that the fine was a little harsh. "We bowled them 51 overs in all, with the extra balls and there were injury problems." But Peter Lush, the tour manager, had no quibbles: "The fine was up to the adjudicator and we have to abide by his decision."
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