England v Australia 1st ODI September 19th at Trent Bridge

Neil Whitaker reports

WORLD champions Australia made it 13 wins out of  13 since the won the World Cup  as they beat England by seven wickets with six overs to spare.

Travis Head hit an unbeaten 154,  the highest score by an Australian in an ODI match at Trent  Bridge. It was  his sixth ODI century and his second against England but it was the batting display by England, who succumbed to Australia’s part time spinners of Matty Short, Marnus Labuschagne and  Head as they took nine wickets for 141 in 20.4 overs as they went from 212 for two to 315 all out in their 50 overs, that was disappointing.

Head said: “It was nice to get a hundred so it was a good day at the office but it was difficult at the start, I hope I get a few more in a few days' time. It’s a platform and we want to win as many as we can. I thought Mitch  Marsh did a good job with a team of experienced and inexperienced players.  I thought that chasing 300 to win we did an exceptional job.”

Labuschagne was the pick of the part-time spinners, his three for 39 were  his best figures in a ODI match. He was the seventh bowler brought into the attack and he got a wicket with his fourth ball.  Ben Duckett, who top scored with 95,  was deceived by a slow googly and he ended up chipping the ball back to Labuschagne for his first ODI wicket for two years.

After he was hit for  a six by England captain Harry Brook, Labuschagne got his second wicket. Brook pushed  the ball straight back to Labuschagne who dived forward to take the catch.


Jofra Archer tried to smash Labuschagne out of the ground but got a thick outside edge and the ball flew to substitute Cooper Connolly at backward point to give  Labuschagne his  best ODI  figures.

After losing Duckett and Brook in quick succession England’s hopes rested on Jamie Smith and Liam Livingstone to repeat their success in the Tests and T20 but they were gone within five overs of each other.  On 22, Smith pulled Short to the mid-wicket boundary but Aaron Hardie on the boundary edge made a brilliant attempt to catch the ball but as he fell back he threw the ball back in to save five runs. Two balls later Smith got a leading edge to Short and found substitute  Connolly on the long-on boundary to give Short his first ODI wicket.

Livingstone went down the pitch to Adam Zampa, whose first seven overs cost him 40 runs, to launch him into the Radcliffe road stand but found  a Cameron Green coming in from the long-on boundary. That over from Zampa was a wicket maiden.

Brydon Carse fell to the same combination when he smashed Zampa down the ground but couldn’t clear the tall Green who didn’t have to move an inch.

Jacob Bethel did his best to marshal the tail but couldn’t get the  strike.  After hitting  a  six and a four off Head, he flat batted Head to Labuschagne on the long off boundary.  The same two combined to dismiss Adil Rashid off the next ball.

At the first drinks interval it looked so different for England as Duckett and Will  Jacks were in complete control.  Jacks and Duckett added 120 in 17 overs for the second wicket as the runs flowed with ease the moment Jacks joined Duckett. Jacks launched Head over the extra cover boundary for a six.  He smashed  Zampa’s  second ball for an even bigger six into the Radcliffe road stand.  His fifty, which included three fours and two sixes,  came from 45 balls when he smashed Sean Abbott to the mid-wicket boundary.  

With another boundary beckoning he  drilled Zampa through extra cover but found Smith who stuck out his right hand above his head to take the catch.

Brook captaining England for the first time won the toss and decided to bat on an overcast afternoon. Ben Dwarshuis on his ODI debut,  as Australia fielded an inexperienced attack due to illness in their camp.  It was Dwarshuis who  broke the opening partnership  bowling Phil Salt with  one that bamboozled him.  Salt shaped to stear him through point but the ball smashed into his stumps, as he left the field he wondered if if kept low. But after four overs Dwarshuis had to leave the field because of a shoulder injury,

Hardie, who opened the bowling, was taken out of the attack and replaced by Abbott and Duckett sprang into life against Abbott in  the seventh over and smashed Abbott for four fours.  After that there was no stopping him. He reversed  swept  Zampa  to the point boundary. His 50 came from 49 balls with six fours  when he  cut  Green through point for a couple. 

Brook who had been bogged down by the spin of Short and Zampa but unleashed a six off Short  extra cover for a six. He repeated the shot in Short’s next over a little bit straighter but with the same result. Matty Potts smashed Zampa for a straight six to bring up England’s 300 after he had survived two reviews

England got an early breakthrough in the fourth over when Marsh top edged a pull off Potts and found Carse on the mid-wicket boundary. England should have got a second wicket but this time  Carse dropped Head  and couldn’t grasp the rebound, if he had caught it first time it would have been a carbon copy of Ben Stokes’ catch in the 2019 World Cup march against South Africa.

As with England’s innings Head and Stephen Smith found the boundary regularly in their first powerplay as they scored 69 compared to England’s 59.  Head and Smith’s 50 partnership came off 43 balls.

Smith effortlessly hit Carse for a six over the shorter mid-wicket boundary. Head delicately late cut Jacks to the third man boundary to bring up his 17th ODI 50.

England got their second wicket when Smith chipped a leg break from Livingstone and Livingstone took a great return catch with his outstretched arms above his head.

On 11 Green tried to sweep Livingstone but missed the ball the England players went up for leg before and after an eternity umpire Alex Wharf gave him out.  Green reviewed and the replay showed the ball to be missing.  He swept left arm spinners Bethell’s  first ball to the fine leg boundary.  He swept a wild legside ball from Livingstone to the fine leg boundary to bring up the 50 balls partnership with Head off 48 balls.

Head pulled a short ball from Livingstone for a six over square leg and in Livingstone’s next over Head  drilled him to the long-off boundary to take him into the 80’s.

Green’s and Head’s partnership was broken after they had added 73 in 11 overs when  Bethell’s quicker ball beat Green’s cut to give the 20-year-old Warwickshire player his first International wicket.

Head reached his century when he slapped an ultra slower ball from Potts into the covers for a single. His century came from 92 balls with 14 fours and three sixes and he  now wanted to end the match quickly and hit four fours off a Carse over the second if which  evaded  Brook at mid-on.

Labuschagne hit two straight sixes off Livingstone and then swept him to the square leg boundary.

England’s interim coach Marcus Trescothick said: “It was a tough day and losing is never easy, the pitch got better.  The way that Head goes about his work made it very tough for us. He picks up the length so we’ll and he hurts you

When we batted we weren’t able to adapt to different situations so we’ve got to make sure that the next time they arise we have to be better.  

I thought  Brook did well and I enjoy working with him and he likes  to put the opposition under pressure by taking wickets.”

SCORECARD