It was no surprise that the English did not give the Aussies the fight that was expected. The celebrations from the T20 World Cup are still lurking around. Today’s loss will be a wake-up call for England as Australia won the match by 6 wickets and 3 plus over remaining.
David Malan Scored His Career Best of 134 Runs
The English batsmen looked lost today against the Australian pacers. If it weren’t for David Malan, England’s score would not have even gone past 200. The two openers managed to score just 20 runs between them. David Malan came onto the pitch in the 4th over of the match after Starc cleaned out Jason Roy’s stumps. He assessed the lines and lengths that the Aussies were bowling. There was an extra bounce in the pitch for the bowlers, which was one of the root causes for the quick dismissals of the English batsmen. England did manage to push their innings to the last four overs, and courtesy of a handful cameo by David Willey, they managed to reach a score of 287.
Cummins and Zampa Picked Up 3 Wickets Each
Pat Cummins could go back home as a happy captain and player. He was the lead man for the pacers. While other pacers managed to bring out the dot balls, Cummins took advantage of the pressure and picked up a handy 3 wickets haul. Adam Zampa, on the other hand, was Australia’s best bowler today. He has really started to fill in the boots of former Aussie wrist spinners. His bowling figures of 3 for 55 in 10 overs was the tone-setter for Australia today.
The Fifties from Warner, Head, and Smith Sealed the Win for Australia
Travis Head was the new replacement for Aaron Finch. The new opening pair for Australia was on song today. The two openers put up a partnership of 147 runs in less than 20 overs. With the openers giving a quick start to the team, it got much easier for the other batsmen to come in and finish off the game. Steve Smith has been out of action for some time and today’s innings was more of a, “I am still here” innings. He stayed right till the very end for Australia to seal the win. Warner, Head, and Smith made scores of 86, 69, and 80 respectively. So Australia starts off the series with a win and will look to continue the winning streak for the rest of the series. Their T20 World Cup campaign was a disappointment, whereas the English need to get back to dominating white-ball cricket.
