AUS vs ENG: Trent Bridge marked the opening of the challenging quest between the two most befitting rivals in the history of the game. England is hosting the Aussies for a long 5-match series; this brings back the culture of the five-match ODI series back into the game.
The coin went up and landed in favour of the stand-in English skipper, Harry Brook, as he picked to bat first. The Trent Bridge seemed like a batting track as Ben Duckett and Phil Salt came into the English innings.
The Aussies showed a strange change in mindset, as in the absence of their lead bowlers Josh Hazelwood, Mitchell Starc, and veteran skipper Pat Cummins, they bowled 30.4 overs of spin in the innings, despite having 4 fast bowlers in their bowling deck.
When Ben Duckett and Will Jacks set the tone of the English innings with their stunning 50s, Jacks’ quickfire innings came to an end as Australia’s most economical bowler Zampa struck against the all-rounder. England’s newly appointed skipper Harry Brook kept the scoreboard going alongside Duckett before both of these two batters fell to Marnus Labuschagne.
Bethell added some final runs, while Adam Zampa and Labuschagne picked 3 wickets each before Head finished the tail with his 2 wickets.
Australia still had a mammoth 315 to chase, which seems like a gettable score in modern-day limited-overs cricket. Travis Head and the skipper stepped into the bat, as Marsh, Steve Smith, and Cameron Green played a vital role in giving Travis Head the ease he could settle in.
Head kept the momentum from one end, as Smith and Green scored vital 30s before Labuschagne came into bat. Travis Head went on to score 154* runs, a new record set by the in-form batter as he went past the likes of great Shane Watson for scoring the highest number of individual runs in a single inning for Australia in England.
Labuschagne also claimed a great feat, as done never before by any Australian. He went on to score 77 runs with the bat, striking at 126.23, as he swept, pulled, and reverse swept the spinners after he struck three times with the ball and also had four amazing catches under his belt.
At the back of Head and Labuschagne’s stellar innings’, Australia won the first match against the new England side, as they looked confident as an Aussie side, despite the absence of players like Maxwell and the three-fast bowlers. Australia leads the series early on with a 1-0 advantage.
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