Glenn
Maxwell produced a stellar all-round performance and Mitchell Johnson returned
to terrorise England as Australia clinched the one-day tri-series with an
emphatic 112-run victory over their Ashes rivals on Sunday.
Barely
two weeks before the World Cup, the hosts proved their batting depth to recover
from 60-4 and post 278-8 with Maxwell (95) and Mitchell Marsh (60) rebuilding
the innings before James Faulkner's late assault.
A rejuvenated
Johnson, rested in the group games, then mowed down England top order on a
bouncy WACA track, dismissing James Taylor, Moeen Ali and captain Eoin Morgan,
who left a ball and watched in horror as it pegged back his off-stump.
Maxwell
followed up his batting heroics with bowling figures of 4-46 to go with the
sharp catch he took to send back Taylor as England collapsed for 166 in 39.1
overs.
Ravi
Bopara top scored for the visitors but his 33 runs were of little significance
in an abject batting collapse.
Put into
bat, Australia were reeling at 60 for four in the 18th over but Maxwell found
an able ally in Marsh and the duo added 141 runs in 23.2 overs to prop up the
innings.
Australia lost opener Aaron Finch even before they could open their account and David
Warner became James Anderson's second victim in the seventh over.
In-form
Steve Smith, however, batted confidently until off-spinner Ali exhibited his
newly-developed habit of claiming crucial breakthroughs.
Smith
returned having contributed 40 of Australia's 60 runs at that stage but the
Maxwell-Marsh partnership allayed the fears of a batting capitulation with some
aggressive cricket.
Maxwell
displayed his wide array of shots -- both conventional and cheeky -- in a
belligerent knock, bringing up his ninth fifty with a reverse paddle that raced
to the boundary.
The
right-hander hit four boundaries in a Chris Woakes over before falling to
Stuart Broad in the next, while Marsh was run out soon after, paying the price
for a late decision to go for a second run.
This was
the third time Maxwell had fallen in the 90s but Faulkner continued the assault
on the English bowlers by smashing four sixes, three in the same Woakes over
and the other from the final delivery to bring up his fifty in just 24 balls.
Woakes
bled 89 runs in his wicketless 10 overs, while Stuart Broad claimed 3-55.
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