Josh Hazlewood pitched brilliantly for 3/26 and took a catch on key terrain from Jonny Bairstow to help Australia beat England by 19 runs despite an inaugural century from Sam Billings at their one-day international on Friday. Needing a record pursuit at Old Trafford of 295 to win, England was cut to 13/2 by Hazlewood and then to 57/4 when legged player Adam Zampa took two of their four wickets.
Bairstow (84) and Sam Billings (118 of 109 balls) put up 103 for the fifth wicket, but their partnership ended when Hazlewood crossed to their right at the cows corner to catch on the dip and eliminate Bairstow. Billings pushed through a challenging and innovative hundred, but ran out of time in front of some solid bowling under the lights, eventually losing his window on the last ball of the match. England finished 275/9.
Hazlewood pitched so well early on that she received eight straight overs on top of innings, after which she was 2/21 with three maidens.
“There was a little bit with the new ball and I made the most of it,” said the pacemaker, who is a mainstay on the test team but sometimes rested on white ball cricket. “I was lucky to get a couple of the first few and keep them under pressure.”
Australia took the lead in the three-game series against the world champions without star hitter Steve Smith, who rested as a precaution after being hit in the head in the nets on Thursday. Smith passed a concussion test and will be retested on Saturday before the second game in Manchester on Sunday.
At bat in the teams’ first ODI since the World Cup last year, Australia was also in trouble, though not quite as bad as England, at 123/5 at 24, but recovered thanks to a position. of 126 runs by Glenn Maxwell (77 of 59 balls) and Mitch Marsh (73).
Gradually the pressure on the bowlers returned. Marsh played a major anchor role as Maxwell opened up, hitting spinner Adil Rashid twice over the fence. The next ball after his second six earned Maxwell his 20th ODI fifty.
Maxwell hit pacemaker Jofra Archer for six straight in the 44th, but cut the next ball. After his first fifty in two and a half years, Marsh split Mark Wood to finish an inning that included six limits.
Mitchell Starc broke a final six-ball to finish 19 with no out and put England on a highly competitive total on a slow pitch – the kind England sometimes struggle with, as captain Eoin Morgan acknowledged before the game. Jason Roy (3) and Joe Root (1) missed the recent T20 series between the teams and came cheap for Hazlewood, who caught and released Roy and got a lead behind Root. Root, in particular, was worked on by the fast launcher before his almost inevitable demise. Dangermen Morgan (23) and Jos Buttler (1) then fell to Zampa, meaning England were always far behind.
Bairstow rushed to his thirteenth and slowest ODI fifty (with 78 balls) before opting for some big hits to keep the race pace manageable. He had hit four sixes when he holed Hazlewood in front of Zampa. After Moeen Ali split for six to give Hazlewood their third spot, Australia was on the tail and was never really in danger of allowing England to get back into the match.
Billings was playing in the absence of Ben Stokes, one of two players missing from England’s World Cup winning lineup, and he took his rare opportunity.
“Obviously I’m very happy, but in a losing cause there are mixed feelings,” Billings said. “They are one of the toughest teams in world sport right now. I’ve put too much pressure on myself in the past. “
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