Australia beat a failed England and rain to secure victory in the ODI series in Bristol | cricket

Despite some lost time towards the end, the rain came three minutes too late to save England. Australia were ahead in the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern calculation, and with just enough overs bowled to ensure a result, the tourists claimed a 3-2 series victory, quashing any debate about the moral winners of this game.

England, who restarted before the first game between these teams and then bounced back from a 2-0 deficit, had themselves primarily to blame in this decider. They had taken off like a train after being inserted. Ben Duckett's 91-ball 107 and Harry Brooks' electric 72-ball 52 gave hope for a total of over 400. However, they were undone by Travis Head's handy part-time spin and bowled to a below-par score of 309 with four balls not bowled.

There was then an anxious wait to see whether 20 overs would be sent in the reply to produce a winner as a weather front moved in from the southwest throughout the day. After 17 overs there was an obligatory drinks break – the players weren't exactly parched in the autumnal conditions – and soon after, an all-too-comfortable change of shoes for Matthew Potts, which took thoughts back to Cardiff in 2009, Bilal Shafayat et al.

But even with these delays – the kind of high farce and drama that only cricket can provide – Australia managed four balls over the mark when the clouds burst at 4.29pm. After taking advantage of some short and wide attacks from England's attack to reach a stunning 165 for two – Matthew Short managed 50 from just 30 balls – a convincing 49-run win at DLS was sealed when the officials at 6 p.m called the time.

“To be completely honest, I didn't really notice (the time wasted),” said Mitch Marsh, Australia's stand-in captain, who sat out the game with “pains” and left Steve Smith to lead the team again.

“I sat in the back. Whether they did or not, who knows? It's the old joke: the rain almost saved them again…after last year. We have great respect for England and the series was played well.”

Brook may have even missed a trick, even though it would have been top-notch gamesmanship. Brydon Carse had struck Smith's bat in the 20th over and although the appeal was half-hearted, a careless criticism from Brook would have bogged things down even further. But given Australia's resistance, where Head's best ODI figure of four for 28 was so crucial, the end result was right.

In this regard, although England have never come back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 in an ODI series, Brooks rookies deserve credit for creating the opportunity against the world champions. Brook deputized for the injured Jos Buttler and overtook Virat Kohli for the most runs by a captain in an ODI series against Australia; 312 to Kohli's 310 in 2019 after he bowled Adam Zampa for six shots.

By the time he and Duckett competed in a 132-run third-wicket stand against all-comers, reaching 202 for two in the 25th over – Duckett once again cross-batting with panache – England were firmly on the rise. But having just sent Zampa into the packed stands with a powerful swing, Brook eventually missed a shot that was too long and from there a somewhat confusing collapse of eight for 107 was set in motion.

Adil Rashid's 35-ball score of 36 – his highest ODI score in seven years – and a last-wicket stand of 33 with Olly Stone only slightly offset this. On a day when two early strikes from Aaron Hardie suggested seam – not least the ball that countered Will Jacks for a duck – fingerspin was the real kryptonite on this surface. Head, the eighth bowler deployed, and Glenn Maxwell (two for 49) were the men who delivered the ball to Smith, turned away and relished untying the old foe.

Duckett at least enjoyed his first century against Australia, no matter the format; a useful cherry to pop before next year's Ashes reunion and in just 86 balls. Otherwise it was pretty tepid stuff, the middle to lower order spooked by a little twist. Jacob Bethell was at a loss as he advanced to head trying to rebuild the innings and therefore failed to continue his bright start in the drawn T20 series. But like Jamie Smith, who bowled after some captivating bowling from Maxwell, he will have learned a lot.

It was a similar story when Jofra Archer was rested and the pace attacker couldn't quite replicate Friday night's climb under the lights because he fell too short of Short and discovered the opener's penchant for it.

However, Carse and Potts have made progress overall in this series and are in good spirits ahead of the flight to Pakistan on Tuesday. With Duckett settling in at the opener and Brook claiming he had now discovered his pace in 50-over cricket, a series that also attracted a healthy audience in the autumn was anything but a waste of time.