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During the third ODI of the five-match series between England and Australia at the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street, Brydon Carse took a sensational diving catch to his left, to dismiss a well set Steve Smith, who had gone past his fifty. The breathtaking moment happened in the 35th over of the Australian innings when Steve Smith nailed a pull shot off the bowling of Jofra Archer, only for Brydon Carse to pluck the ball out of thin air.
After winning the toss, Harry Brook, the captain of England, decided to field first on a pitch which was expected to provide some early assistance to the fast bowlers. In the absence of swashbuckling Travis Head, who was rested for the third ODI, Australian openers Matthew Short and captain Mitchell Marsh were sent back to the pavilion, following a decent beginning to their respective innings, which led to Steve Smith getting joined by Cameron Green in the middle, and they build a fantastic partnership of 84 runs for the third wicket.
Steve Smith scored a patient fifty in third ODI against England at the Riverside Ground
The patient innings of Steve Smith, which saw him make 60 runs off 82 balls with five fours, came to an abrupt end on the bowling of Jofra Archer, thanks to a brilliant diving catch from Brydon Carse, who covered around 5-10 met r es to his left at the square leg region. The stunning grab from Brydon Carse led to the fans at the Riverside Ground stand up and clap for him in appreciation, while his teammates couldn’t quite believe what had just transpired in front of them.
After the fall of Steve Smith’s innings, Alex Carey took control of the Australian innings, scoring an unbeaten 77 off 65 with seven fours and one maximum. He and Aaron Hardie (44 off 26) accelerated the innings in the final 10 overs for Australia, to help propel their eventual total to 304/7, setting up a daunting target for England, which they will need to chase down to stay in the five-match ODI series.
Notably, Australia have won the first two ODI matches of the series against England by comprehensive margins at the Headingley in Leeds and Trent Bridge in Nottingham last week.
