Australia v England: Hosts canter to six-wicket win in first ODI in Adelaide
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Travis Head (left) and David Warner (right) were reunited at the top of the order after Aaron Finch's retirement from 50-over cricket
First one-day international, Adelaide Oval |
England 287-9 (50 overs): Malan 134 (128); Zampa 3-55, Cummins 3-62 |
Australia 291-4 (46.5 overs): Warner 86 (84), Smith 80* (78), Head 69 (57); Willey 2-51 |
Australia won by six wickets |
Australia cantered to a six-wicket victory over England in the opening one-day international in Adelaide.
Chasing 288 to win, David Warner (86), Travis Head (69) and Steve Smith (80*) saw the hosts home with 19 balls left.
England made 287-9 in their 50 overs, with Dawid Malan's 134 off 128 balls anchoring the innings, as they recovered from 31-3 and 118-5.
The remaining games in the three-match series take place on Saturday and Tuesday from 03:20 GMT.
Three of England's T20 World Cup-winning side - captain Jos Buttler, Phil Salt and Chris Jordan - played, while Moeen Ali, who said having to play this game four days after Sunday's triumph was "horrible", Sam Curran, Adil Rashid and Chris Woakes sat out.
It presented opportunities for others, with opener Jason Roy returning to the fold after being left of the World Cup squad, but he was bowled by Mitchell Starc for six.
David Willey (2-51) impressed by dismissing Warner and Marnus Labuschagne in the middle overs, to go with his unbeaten 34, while left-arm spinner Liam Dawson bowled with little reward, in taking 1-65.
Malan drags England to score
England will be concerned about their top-order struggles - they have only passed 100 for the loss of three wickets once in six games now - especially with their 50-over World Cup defence in India now less than 12 months away.
This was their highest score since Jos Buttler took over the captaincy, after a series defeat by India and draw against South Africa in the home summer, but it was anything but perfect.
They lost regular wickets, with a stand of 60 between Malan and David Willey for the eighth wicket the highest in the innings.
Malan's innings was masterful. He was back in the side after Buttler and head coach Matthew Mott opted to "rest" him for Sunday's T20 World Cup final as he recovered from a groin injury suffered in England's final Super 12 game.
He was patient until he reached his century - his second in one-day internationals - off 107 balls.
The 35-year-old was typically strong off his legs and hip, regularly nudging and flicking into the leg side, while he slog-swept spinners Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar for six.
It takes his ODI average to 64.71, but with the likes of Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Harry Brook, Ben Duckett still to potentially come back into the squad, there is no guarantee Malan will even be on the plane to the World Cup next October, let alone in the team.
Australia chase never in doubt
At the halfway point, it felt like England were slightly below par, and that proved to be the case, even without Australia being assisted by the ball skidding onto the bat under the lights.
An opening stand of 147 between Head and Warner - who were reunited at the top of the order after Aaron Finch's retirement in September - got the hosts well ahead in the chase and they never looked back.
Head, who steered a Jordan delivery out to deep square leg, and Warner, who was superbly caught by Sam Billings, were both frustrated with their dismissals, with a century waiting for both.
England were pretty lacklustre, a mixture of inexperience and only having five bowling options proving costly.
Their attack had just 101 ODI appearances between them, with Lancashire's left-arm seamer Luke Wood (0-59) making his debut, Jordan (1-49) playing in just his fourth international in this format since 2016, Dawson his first since 2018 and Olly Stone (0-50) just his fifth.
The bowlers toiled hard, restricting Australia to just 15 runs in a 29-ball period after Willey's two quick wickets, but the total they had to defend was insufficient after the rapid start Australia got off to.
With Curran, Moeen, Woakes and Rashid likely to return during this series and the injured Reece Topley, Jofra Archer and Saqib Mahmood still to come back, England will not panic, but individuals did miss out on the opportunity to give Buttler and Mott a headache.
'The hundred was extremely satisfying' - reaction
Player of the match, England's Dawid Malan: "To get to the T20 World Cup final and be ruled out was gutting, so to come here, prove my fitness and score a hundred was extremely satisfying.
"We were probably 30 or 40 runs short, if we're being honest.
"50 overs is probably my strongest format but it's hard to get into the team with how guys have performed the last couple of years. But if I keep doing what I'm doing, I might be part of that squad."
Australia captain Pat Cummins on Test Match Special: "It was a magnificent innings from Dawid Malan, he just kept ticking over and targeted the short boundary, he was class.
"They did well to get to that score from their position but we bowled really well. It was a good wicket all the way through really, though there was a bit of seam movement early on.
"England are always a strong team and it's nice for us to get back out there and make amends, remind ourselves we are still a very good team despite being disappointed in the T20 World Cup."