Australia set England victory target of 300 to level ODI series

England need 300 to level series

England have been set a victory target of 300 to stay alive in the one-day international series against Australia after a late flurry of runs by Matthew Wade in the fourth ODI at Headingley.

David Willey opened the bowling after being called up to the England side and took the first wicket in the third over of the day when Joe Burns (2) dragged onto his stumps.

The Northants all-rounder then trapped Aussie captain Steve Smith lbw for just five runs before completing a trio of early wickets when Aaron Finch (15) got the faintest of edges through to Jonny Bairstow.

England were on top at 30-3, but a fourth-wicket stand of 137 from George Bailey and Glenn Maxwell put Australia back in control as they motored towards a big score.

Maxwell was bowled by Moeen Ali after a quickfire 85 off 64 balls before three wickets fell in two overs to seemingly give England control going into final 10 overs.

Liam Plunkett got rid of Mitchell Marsh (17) and Bailey (75) in the 41st over before debutant Marcus Stoinis lost his wicket a few balls later to Ali, leaving Australia 215-7.

Wade (50*) and John Hastings (34*) were the new batsmen at the crease and the duo put on 84 for the eighth wicket to blast Australia to 299-7, with Wade reaching his half-century off just 26 balls.

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