Faulkner wants to capitalise on Manchester win

Australia

All-rounder James Faulkner has reiterated the importance of Sunday's 88-run triumph over England at Old Trafford in Manchester, which afforded Australia a vital one-nil lead in the five-match series.

All-rounder James Faulkner has reiterated the importance of Sunday's 88-run triumph over England at Old Trafford in Manchester, which afforded Australia a vital one-nil lead in the five-match series.

With the first fixture washed out without a ball bowled at Leeds in Headingley, the weekend's fixture garnered additional significance. Faulkner's late-order cameo pushed the final total to 315 for seven, after which the his key dismissal of batsman Joe Root contributed to England's insufficient 227 all out.

"Any time you play a series, whether it's in one-dayers or Tests, the first few games really dictate how it is going to go. I suppose they had the upper hand in the Ashes, winning the first Test, and I hope we can take full advantage of winning this ODI," said Faulkner.

"We don't want to go home empty-handed. We've played some good cricket for the last couple of months, and it's our time now to really put our foot on the throat and win these last few games."

"It's been a little while now since we've got a win in ODIs – I think the last one was against the West Indies. It was a good feeling, and we hope we can roll on now with some momentum."

The 23-year-old Faulkner's bid for a permanent berth in the Test XI, meanwhile, have increased – after left-armer Mitchell Starc joined the injured Ryan Harris, James Pattinson and Pat Cummins on the sidelines.

"Everyone is hoping to try to hold on to their Test spot, but at the moment I'm concentrating on the one-day cricket – after that we'll see what happens. At the moment, all my attention is on this series and trying to win games of cricket," he concluded.

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