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The pair put on a stand of 269 in 38.1 overs, falling just short of their own Australian record ODI partnership of 284
Australia 5 for 355 (Head 152, Warner 106, Stone 4-85) beat England 142 (Roy 33, Zampa 4-31) by 221 runs (DLS method)
Life after Aaron Finch is proving a breeze for Australia with new opening pair Travis Head and David Warner piling up twin hundreds in a record-breaking partnership to hammer a listless England in the final ODI at the MCG a secure a series whitewash.
The pair put on a stand of 269 in 38.1 overs, falling just short of their own Australian record ODI partnership of 284, to underpin Australia's imposing total of 355 for 5 after the innings was reduced to 48 overs due to rain. They broke a host of records including becoming the second duo in ODI history to post two 250-plus runs stands behind India pair Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly.
Head continued his dominant year in ODI cricket scoring 152 from 130 balls, his second century and third overall, while Warner made 106 from 102 to post his first century for Australia in any format since January 2020, breaking a 68-innings drought. Head's answers were even more extraordinary given he was fighting gastro, having struggled to take on food and fluids pre-game, and was unable to field.
End are booked on a 6am flight out of Melbourne on Wednesday morning and played like they were already waiting for it as they slumped to their largest ODI defeat after winning the toss and electing to field. England's intensity matched that of one of the smallest ODI crowds ever at the MCG of 10,406, on a miserable cold and wet Tuesday night in November, with the dead rubber resembling an Australian domestic one-day fixture. It was the lowest crowd at an MCG ODI since 1979. Two rain interruptions only dampened the mood further. All of England's bowlers were collared at more than six runs per over. Olly Stone took four of the five wickets to fall but finished with the extraordinary figures of 4 for 85.
Their chase was equally poor in pursuit of a DLS-adjusted target of 364, albeit they had the tougher of the batting conditions as the ball nipped and swung under lights. But it didn't excuse a lack of intent from the top three and then a slew of poor shots middle order-order as they folded to be bowled out for 142 in just 31.4 overs. Adam Zampa picked up 4 for 31 as all five Australian bowlers shared the wickets. The final margin of 222 runs surpassed England's previous biggest loss of 219 runs. Australia could have ended the game early had they not dropped the four catches.
Like Australia, England picked up momentum with a new ball in the early overcast afternoon, with Heads enjoying some good luck charms. He flashed wildly outside the stump after his two pushes, one safely through his third shot that was unoccupied, and the other Liam on his second shot. Jumped high to the right, escaping Dawson's grip on him. Chris Woakes was also given a head-on to the field but was brought down in review for raising his outside leg.
From there Head found another gear and with a stunning face whipped the English bowler into all parts of his MCG. Not even a slight rain delay could slow him down.
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