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Liam Livingstone and Jacob Bethell flexed their muscles as England defied a shock five-wicket haul from part-timer Matthew Short to set up a T20 series decider against Australia on Sunday.
Set 194, England slipped to 79 for three when Phil Salt walked into an apparent trap laid by fellow stand-in captain Travis Head, holing out to Short, but a boundary laden stand of 90 in 47 balls between Livingstone and Bethell broke the back of the chase.
Bethell’s dismissal for 44 off 24 balls with the finish line in sight disrupted England but Livingstone carried them to the brink of victory with a superb 87 off 47 deliveries, including five sixes and six fours.
He was bowled with the scores tied and Brydon Carse senselessly slogged in the air next ball to give Short, who had previously only taken two international wickets, his maiden professional five-for.
However, Adil Rashid steered to backward point for the single England needed for a three-wicket win with six balls to spare at Cardiff, tying the three-match series at 1-1 heading to Old Trafford this weekend.
Livingstone, on his 50th T20, earlier took two for 16 from three overs while Carse, barely a fortnight on from his return to cricket after a three-month ban for breaching betting regulations, also impressed with a couple of wickets as he filled in for Jofra Archer, breaching 90mph.
Head, skippering the tourists in the absence of the ill Mitch Marsh, was again electric at the top of the order with 31 off 14 balls while Jake Fraser-McGurk’s 50 – his first international fifty – was followed by Australia plundering 60 from the final five overs to finish on 193 for six.
Short again ignited Australia’s early charge, hitting Reece Topley out of the ground in a first over yielding 15 before Head took centre stage after getting off nought with a streaky top-edge.
Topley and Saqib Mahmood paid for overpitching as Head clobbered both over the shorter, straight boundary and he toyed with the field as Australia raced to 51 without loss from four overs before Carse made an instant impact.
In his first England outing in nine months, Carse’s 91mph delivery was shovelled chest-height to Rashid, who alongside the fast bowler put the brakes on after Sam Curran had been bludgeoned for three successive fours by Fraser-McGurk in the final over of the powerplay.
Short had slowed to a near-standstill before being castled for 28 off 24 deliveries by Rashid but Fraser-McGurk drove the Yorkshireman for six before a remarkable carve over deep point, through the hands of a leaping Jacob Bethell en route to a 29-ball fifty.
Attempting to up the ante to Livingstone, Fraser-McGurk instead gifted a catch to Jamie Overton at long-on while Marcus Stoinis perished in identical fashion in the Cumbrian’s last over.
Rashid conceding 15 in his final over may explain why Livingstone did not complete his allotment but England kept chipping away as Carse caught the toe-end of Tim David’s bat through to Salt, while Curran’s pace-off delivery did for Josh Inglis, who lofted tamely into the deep to depart for 42.
Overton shelled a running chance to reprieve Cameron Green, who put on an unbroken 36 in 17 deliveries with Aaron Hardie. Hardie, in particular, was equal to Curran’s variations in a final over costing 20.
Salt was initially watchful at the outset of the reply but, on one off five, he belted three successive leg-side sixes off Hardie before Sean Abbott silenced the crowd with two wickets in three balls.
Will Jacks under-cooked a pull on 12 before Abbott’s nip-backer breached Jordan Cox’s defences, with Livingstone beaten by a beauty first up and then surviving a review for lbw in an eventful over.
Undeterred, Livingstone cleared deep midwicket off 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-time off-spin reaped rewards, with Salt’s eyes lighting up only for the opener to miscue straight into the air to fall for 39 off 23 balls.
Requiring 104 from the last 10 overs, Livingstone put the hammer down, scooping Green for six before twice depositing Stoinis into the crowd for a 27-ball fifty. Bethell got into the act with a swing off slow left-armer Cooper Connolly before taking down Australia’s premier spinner Adam Zampa.
Bethell, in just his second T20, used his feet brilliantly to disrupt Zampa’s rhythm and took him for four-six-four-four but with 25 needed off the last four overs, the 20-year-old missed a reverse sweep off Short.
Short then snared Curran in 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 before Rashid got England home.
