Sam Billings smashed his maiden century but Josh Hazlewood’s three wickets at the top, backed by Glenn Maxwell’s aggressive knock lower down the order, proved to be enough as Australia won the first ODI by 19 runs against England to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series in Old Trafford on Friday. It was a continuation of Australia’s winning momentum that they secured following their win in the third Twenty20 International after the first two games in the tour saw them shaking off some match rust after no action for close to six months due to the coronavirus pandemic.

England chose to bowl and they welcomed back Jason Roy, who had missed the T20Is due to injury. Marnus Labuschagne was included in the Australia side while Steve Smith was rested as a precaution following a blow to his head in practice. David Warner’s poor run continued as he was bowled by Jofra Archer while Aaron Finch also struggled to get going. Marcus Stoinis looked in aggressive touch, smashing three fours off Mark Wood in the 12^th over.

Stoinis looked good for a fifty but Wood had his revenge when he sent him back for 43. Marnus Labuschagne looked to glance a quick ball from Adil Rashid but was trapped in front. When Alex Carey was dismissed for 10 by Rashid, Australia were in dire straits at 123/5. Then it was the Marsh and Maxwell show and they proceeded to bat in contrasting ways to rescue Australia.

Maxwell showed his intentions with a six off Rashid and a four off Moeen Ali while Mitchell Marsh bided his time. Following the drinks break, Maxwell struck two more boundaries off Moeen but Marsh reached his fifty, his first since January 2018. Maxwell reached his fifty off 42 balls with a six off Rashid and he teed off. The 100-run partnership came up and Maxwell upped the ante, smashing two sixes off Archer but in the quest for aggression, Maxwell dragged a full ball back onto the stumps to fall for 77. Marsh also fell for 73 and Australia lost their momentum slightly and despite Mitchell Starc hitting a six off the final ball, Australia ended up on 294/9.

Hazlewood strikes

Josh Hazlewood was in fine form at the start of the innings as he sent back Jason Roy and Joe Root cheaply. After bowling three maidens, Eoin Morgan and Jonny Bairstow smashed a six and a four as Hazlewood leaked 14 runs in his seventh over.Morgan and Jonny Bairstow looked in fine touch and looked to be stitching a partnership but Adam Zampa struck twice, removing Morgan and the dangerous Jos Buttler in quick succession. However, England were kept in the game by a superb partnership between Bairstow and Billings.

Bairstow struggled in the middle overs but he broke the shackles with two sixes off Zampa and he notched up his fifty. Billings took the attack to Pat Cummins, smashing him for two fours and a six in the 27^th over. Bairstow joined in the fun with a six off Cummins and made smooth progress to the 80s. The right-hander looked in reat touch by hammering a six off Mitchell Starc but Zampa struck again, removing Bairstow for 84.

Hazlewood removed Moeen to finish with 10-3-26-3 but Billings kept the fight going, hitting a six off Marsh and two fours off Zampa. However, with the required rate at over 10 runs an over, England kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Billings notched up his century with three fours off Cummins but with 28 needed off the final over, it proved to be a tall task as England fell short.