Tuesday 8 September 2015 23:22, UK
The quality of James Taylor's maiden one-day international century for England was put into sharp focus by Australia's innings of 207 all out, says Mike Atherton.
Taylor struck 101 off 114 balls as Eoin Morgan's men - needing to win to stay in the series - ran up 300-8 off their 50 overs before securing a 93-run victory at Old Trafford, Jason Roy (63) and Eoin Morgan (62) also making significant contributions with the bat.
The Nottinghamshire batsman didn't strike his first four off his 53rd delivery and only struck five boundaries in all as he reached three figures for the first time in his 21st one-day international.
Context
Reflecting on the achievement, former England captain Atherton said: "His innings was given context by what came afterwards - you're never quite sure how good the innings is until you see the other side bat.
"You could maybe say that that pitch deteriorated slightly but Taylor said at half-time that he didn't think it was the easiest pitch to score runs on and that was proven when Australia came to bat on it. That put a better gloss on his innings.
"England's was a classic one-day innings with one hundred and two fluent fifties; there was some good fielding after a bit of an iffy start and some excellent spin bowling, picking up wickets at important times."
Important
Spinners Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali did the bulk of the damage in the middle of Australia's innings after Aaron Finch had struck 53, claiming combined figures of 5-73 in helpful conditions.
"It did turn right from the outset but England's spinners bowled better; England's batsmen played the spin a little bit better too," reflected Atherton.
"We've seen throughout the summer with Australia that if the ball goes off the straight, whether it's quickly with the seam bowlers as it did at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge in the Test matches, or whether it's with the slow bowlers as it did tonight, they are less certain.
"They're very happy to hit through the ball when there's not much happening but when it just goes sideways they are not quite so sure.
"So these were good conditions for England to get back into the series; it was an important win in that regard but also they've lost the last seven against Australia, so it was good to get that monkey off their back as well."
Refreshed
Morgan should have been stumped off debutant Ashton Agar when he was on 15 but survived to register his 27th in 149 ODIs - off 46 balls with seven fours.
"He's in good form," said Atherton. "He's obviously benefitted from that mid-season break that he asked for from Middlesex and they were kind enough to grant him that so he's come into this series refreshed, eager and ready to go.
"We've seen it throughout this series that he's played as fluently as anybody in the team. Taylor didn't find the conditions easy tonight so the fact that Morgan was playing fluently took a bit of pressure of him so he could knock it around."
Tighter
Roy, meanwhile, followed up scores of 67 and 31 at the Ageas Bowl and Lord's respectively with another display of crisp ball striking.
"He's in wonderful form. My only concern for him is that he's not quite taken advantage of the really good form by putting on a significant score," said former opener Atherton.
"It's not often that you strike the ball as cleanly as he has in the last few innings. He's got England off to some nice starts because Alex Hales hasn't really flourished at the other end.
"His hands are a bit tighter to his body now and he's driving fluently as a result. He'll be disappointed with his dismissal because it was a bit of a tame end."
Watch the fourth one-day international between England and Australia live on Sky Sports 2 from 10am on Friday.
