Eoin Morgan: England ODI captain 'not interested in dull cricket'

England beat New Zealand three months after going out of the World Cup at the group stages

England one-day captain Eoin Morgan is "not interested in playing dull cricket" as his side face Australia in the first one-day international.

England exited the World Cup at the group stages in March, before a change in approach saw them beat New Zealand 3-2 just three months later.

"Previously, we had set targets and restrictions on ourselves but that is not the case now," said Morgan.

England regained the Ashes by beating Australia 3-2 in the five-Test series.

In the last five Ashes series, the team winning the Tests has gone on to lose the one-day series, but England may be able to take heart from their recent win over the Kiwis.

Woeful to wonderful

England were knocked out of the 2015 World Cup after losing to Bangladesh in their final group game

In their six matches at the World Cup - won by Australia - England managed victories over only Scotland and Afghanistan, failing to reach the quarter-finals.

Coach Peter Moores was sacked following a subsequent drawn Test series in the West Indies, and former captain Andrew Strauss was appointed as the new national director of cricket, with Australian Trevor Bayliss coming in as Moores' replacement before the start of the Ashes.

The changes heralded a new, attacking style of play as England beat World Cup finalists New Zealand in spectacular fashion - they scored 1,617 runs, the highest total by a team in a five-match ODI series and struck 209 boundaries, the most by a team in a five-match series.

"We will play smart cricket but at the moment we will take the game to the opposition," Morgan told BBC Radio 5 live. "It is about us trying to get the most out of ourselves and push the boundaries with everything we do.

"When we came back after the World Cup, the message was clear that what we were doing was not working so we needed to bridge the gap.

"The method we used previously meant we had a very good record at home but the method we are going with at the moment I hope will improve our cricket abroad. There won't be any dull cricket played, that does not interest me and it does not win games."

Root out, Moeen in

England and New Zealand scored a combined 3,151 runs in their five-match ODI series earlier this year

England's prolific number three Joe Root, man of the series in the Test matches, has been rested for the one-day games, with all-rounder Moeen Ali, who missed the New Zealand series, added to the squad and likely to come in at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton.

Australia could give ODI debuts to batsman Joe Burns and all-rounders Ashton Agar and Marcus Stoinis, while Steve Smith captains his first full series.

"The way they played against New Zealand, they played really well," said Smith. "We know how they will come out, play the up-tempo, positive style of cricket.

"We know what to expect and we need to counteract that. It is nice to see someone replicate the way we play. We are number one in the world, just won the World Cup, so hopefully we can continue having success."