Morgan: Our best win as a group to date

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England captain Eoin Morgan hailed his side’s character as they beat Australia by 16 runs in the third ODI in Sydney to seal the five-match series with two games to spare.

The tourists defended a target of 303 despite seamer Liam Plunkett limping off injured in his second over with a hamstring injury.

England total of 302/6 was set up by an unbeaten ton by Jos Buttler and a half-century by Chris Woakes after they were in trouble at 189/6 after 38.1 overs.

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The visitors’ skipper said they will be aiming for a series whitewash and will play their strongest possible team in the final two matches.

Morgan said after the game: “It is probably our best win as a group to date. The amount of character we showed until the end was awesome.

“Jos was probably the difference between the two sides, certainly with the bat. On a two-paced wicket, he paced it to perfection, played the anchor until about five or six overs out.

“It was a hammer blow to lose Plunkett, but Joe Root stepped-up to cover Liam’s overs, and the guys at the end were awesome.

“We are now targeting two more wins and will play our strongest team.”

The fourth game of the series will be played in Adelaide on Friday followed by the final game in Perth next Sunday.

England Eoin Morgan

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