England 'showed what we're made of' - 'proud' skipper Lawes salutes series win over Australia

By Sports Desk July 16, 2022

England captain Courtney Lawes hailed the determination of his team-mates after the tourists sealed a series victory over Australia on Saturday.

Eddie Jones' side made it back-to-back series wins Down Under - adding to their 2016 triumph - as they recovered from a slow start to defeat the Wallabies 21-17 in the deciding Test.

The hosts, who won the opening Test 30-28 before they were pegged back 25-17 in the second last weekend, dominated early proceedings at Sydney Cricket Ground, establishing a 10-3 lead thanks to Tom Wright's try.

But England came back before the break through Freddie Steward, while Marcus Smith also crossed in the second half to put the 2003 world champions in control at 21-10 to the good.

Folau Fainga'a went over late on as the hosts set up a grandstand finish, but Lawes and his team-mates stood firm to lift the Ella-Mobbs Cup.

"It really shows what it means for us to play this team," the skipper told Sky Sports. "We had a tough start to this series, but have showed what we're made of.

"We didn't come out how we wanted to today. The message at half-time was to stick together. We knew what we wanted to do. We showed what it means to play for this team.

"We did what we wanted to do to improve week on week. It's a proud moment, for sure.

"We've still got a lot to learn. We can win a game like this where you don't really fire a shot, and you take your chances when you can. We did a lot of defending."

Meanwhile, try scorer Steward also heaped praise on the efforts of Jones' side, saying: "The boys just dug in and gave everything. To win with an effort like that, it was a proper Test match. It's special.

"To come here, dig in with an effort like that at the back end of the season is pretty awesome. It is a great way to end the season especially having been one down is amazing."

Related items

  • Buttler returns to skipper England for West Indies tour Buttler returns to skipper England for West Indies tour

    Jos Buttler will return to captain England for the white-ball tour of West Indies, while Yorkshire leg-spinner Jafer Chohan has earned his first international call-up.

    Buttler missed the recent one-day international and T20 series against Australia due to a calf injury, with Harry Brook and Phil Salt leading the respective sides in his absence.

    Meanwhile, Chohan is one of three uncapped players in the squad, which will remain the same for both series, along with Hampshire fast bowler John Turner and Warwickshire all-rounder Dan Mousley.

    The 22-year-old has taken 17 wickets in 10 T20 Blast matches for Yorkshire in 2024, and is the first South Asian Cricket Academy (SACA) graduate to be named in an England squad.

    "It feels like an absolute dream to be selected. It's what I've worked for my whole life," Chohan told Yorkshire CCC.

    "For me, this is a really good opportunity to be around some of the best players in the world, learn as much as I can, and just really sharpen up my game as much as possible."

    The three-game ODI series begins in Antigua on October 31, while the five-game T20 series commences in Barbados on November 9.

    Full squad: Jos Buttler (captain), Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethell, Jafer Chohan, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Dan Mousley, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, John Turner.

  • 'We've done really well' - Brook upbeat despite Australia ODI series defeat 'We've done really well' - Brook upbeat despite Australia ODI series defeat

    Harry Brook focused on the positives as he saluted England's performances, despite their 3-2 ODI series defeat to Australia.

    Australia clinched a 49-run victory by the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method in the final ODI in Bristol.

    England had recovered from 2-0 down in the series with Brook, who captained the hosts in Jos Buttler's absence, leading their charge with 110 not out and 87 in the third and fourth ODI respectively.

    Brook (72) and Ben Duckett (107) put on a fantastic 132-run stand on Sunday to set a target of 310, though it proved academic as DLS came into play with the tourists on 165-2 with 29 overs remaining when rain stopped play.

    However, the stand-in skipper believes the experience will benefit him and his team-mates in the long run.

    "It's not just the present now, we're looking long-term," said Brook, who was named the ODI player of the summer.

    "We're trying to build towards the bigger series and competitions. It's a new brand of cricket we're trying to play, and I think we've done that perfectly.

    "Getting out of the power play, we didn't get the wickets we wanted, but outside of that, we've done really well."

    On his own performance, he added: "It's nice to get on the board, score a few runs and contribute to some wins. I haven't played too much, but it's nice to finally get the tempo of ODI cricket.

    "Captaincy has been good. It's something I might think about in the future, but I'll sit back and let Jos do it for now."

  • Australia clinch series win over England after rain stops play Australia clinch series win over England after rain stops play

    Australia clinched a 49-run victory on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method in the final ODI against England to seal a 3-2 series win.

    Having won the third and fourth ODIs to tee up a grandstand finish to the series in Bristol, England started well on Sunday.

    England, inspired by Ben Duckett's second ODI century and Harry Brook (72), looked well set after storming to 202 before the latter was dismissed.

    Yet the hosts slipped from 202-3 to 238-6 in less than 10 overs, with Duckett going for 107, and though Adil Rashid (36) steadied the ship, Australia were set a manageable target of 310 to win.

    In total, eight wickets fell for 107 runs, all of them to spin, with Travis Head (4-28) doing the damage for the tourists, who subsequently set about making inroads into the target.

    Head reached 31 from 26 balls before he was dismissed by Brydon Carse (1-36) in the eighth over, while Matthew Short had plundered his way to 58 by the time he was sent packing in the 13th.

    Steve Smith (36 not out) and Josh Inglis (28 not out) subsequently took control before the rain closed in with Australia on 165-2 with 29 overs remaining, leaving them clear winners once DLS came into play.

    Data Debrief: England's comeback falls short

    The weather ultimately frustrated England, but they only have themselves to blame for another batting collapse. 

    England have slipped to their first defeat in an ODI series of four games or more since a 3-2 loss to South Africa in February 2016, while this loss also snapped a run of three straight 50-over wins at the County Ground.

    Australia, meanwhile, clinched their first win in an ODI series of at least four games since they beat Pakistan 5-0 in 2019.

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.