Australia 294 of 9 (Maxwell 77, Marsh 73, Wood 3-54) England 275 of 9 (Billings 118, Bairstow 84, Hazlewood 3-26) for 19 runs
Australia began their World Cup Super League campaign with a close win over the world champions at Emirates Old Trafford. A century-long position between Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh helped salvage a stuttering batting effort, and the bowlers closed the door on England despite a hundred virgin Sam Billings international.
Australia’s efforts with the ball were exemplified by Josh Hazlewood, whose impeccable 3-of-26 helped keep England beyond social distance. Hazlewood’s first wicket came via an instinctive one-handed catch in his follow-up, and he later contributed to Jonny Bairstow’s elimination, 84, with a dive shot down the length. Such excellence on the field, maintained until the final ball when Billings was held up by David Warner running for a long time, only served to intensify England’s climb.
In the final cycle of the World Cup, England had 10 successful chases out of over 290 (three of them against Australia), but despite fielding 10 of the men who helped lift the trophy last summer, they struggled to find the safe passage required to hunt down a target never before reached in this terrain. With the relentless Hazlewood representing Jason Roy and Joe Root, England limped to 22-for-2 at the Powerplay, their worst start at ODI at home since 2006.
It would have been 22 of 3 if not for the DRS, with Bairstow overturning an lbw decision awarded to Hazlewood with the last ball of the 10th lap. Hazlewood was 6-3-5-2 before conceding 14 runs since his seventh, including the only two limits of his night job, but just as England were looking to regain some momentum, Eoin Morgan chose midwicket from the rightful fifth of Adam Zampa. delivery.
The dangerous Jos Buttler, Man of the Series in the T20Is and playing his first ODI since the World Cup final, then hit the crossbar at the start of Zampa’s second over: Marnus Labuschagne lunged forward to take another good catch, and at 57 out of 4 in 17, England seemed headed for a full-scale implosion.
Bairstow and Billings stopped the rot with an association of 113 of 115 balls. Bairstow’s fifty-of-78 balls was the slowest at ODI, but appeared to have played through his uneven start until Zampa’s return marked the crucial breakthrough for Australia. England still needed 125 of 14.4 overs and despite an excellent bustle from Billings, who drew his 101-ball century with a play by Pat Cummins at 49, the goal was never within reach.
The expectation was that Old Trafford at the end of the season would present the kind of batting challenge that has occasionally puzzled England, and they certainly struggled to find the best approach for the field. Billings’ success, which was initially affected by Zampa’s turn, was something to be taken from defeat, after Morgan had asked for greater adaptability on less-than-pristine surfaces.
Australia’s win total came off nicely, as far as tour management goes, after a successful rebuilding effort by two of their dissatisfied talents, the middle order. Marsh anchored innings from No. 5 with his highest score in nearly four years, while Maxwell threatened pyrotechnics before falling 77 of 59 as they secured a competitive total despite England locks, led by Jofra. Archer and Mark Wood returning. – ending strongly.
Missing Steven Smith, who suffered a blow to the head in training the day before, and asked to race against the No. 1 ranked team, Australia recovered well from a shaky first half. The association of 126 sixth wicket races was a record for Australia in ODIs against England and allowed them a respite from the mid-order problems that have plagued them in this format.
Coming in with an Australia score of 123 out of 5, Maxwell soon began sprinting over a run, before unleashing his full repertoire. With Marsh intent on sinking, having been restored aside in South Africa earlier this year, it was Maxwell who seemed most capable of undoing England’s good start on the ball.
He could have been taken at 10 going after a long jump from Adil Rashid only to have runner-up Tom Banton hit him over the rope at long run, and he was lucky enough to escape when he overcame a sweep between Buttler and Root on the slip on the 41 But Maxwell was beginning to find his range as innings entered their final phase, putting Rashid in the top tier and then beating Archer six in a row before throwing a slower ball over his stumps.
Talking about Australia’s formula for the ODI has been a constant of late, despite their run to the World Cup semifinals last year, and they came to this series with captain Aaron Finch asking for “consistency. “in trying to decide on a preferred XI for the road to 2023. Soon there was an opportunity for some of the less established members of the batting lineup to make their case, with David Warner beating the pace in the second round and opening. by Archer. Teammate Finch caught behind Wood’s first ball.
Marcus Stoinis, Smith’s understudy at No. 3, enjoyed limited success before becoming Wood’s second victim, landing a 92 mph delivery to diver Buttler, and England found more success in the middle during Rashid’s spell. Labuschagne, having always looked busy, missed a slider to be pinned lbw despite a review and low pressure Alex Carey overcame a sweep: Rashid edged out James Anderson to become England’s top ODI inning receiver against Australia.
Having come back to 218 of 5 after 40, with Maxwell set to pitch, Australia could only handle 77 runs of the final 10, which included Starc toning the last ball for six. But that was enough for a 1-0 series lead and 10 World Cup qualifying points on the board.
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