Glenn Maxwell and Ashton Agar were the only Australian batsmen to make The Oval scoreboard operators toil for a decent period overnight as England made heavy weather of winning the first of five ODIs.
Maxwell’s 62 and Agar’s 40 stood out in 214 as the Australians failed to bat out the 50 overs by three.
England weren’t too crash hot either in making 7/218 off 44 overs, with skipper Eoin Morgan’s 69 and Joe Root’s 50 the standouts and with David Willey’s unbeaten 35 batting eight the difference, finishing the game with a straight driven six.
New Australian coach Justin Langer got it right when he predicted Maxwell was close to making a big score.
While 62 wasn’t a big score, it was a helluva lot bigger than the 92 runs he’d managed in his last ten visits, with his sixth wicket stand of 84 with the underrated Agar the only bright light.
Irresponsible batting accounted for the rest of the order, leaving Langer with plenty of work to do before the second ODI at Cardiff on Saturday.
Aaron Finch (19), Shaun Marsh (24) and Marcus Stoinis (22) all got a start but threw away their innings by losing concentration when they were looking good.
And why did skipper Tim Paine (12) bat in front of Maxwell? That didn’t make any sense, nor did going into the game a batsman light by dropping opener D’Arcy Short.
(Mark Nolan/Getty Images)
Throw in the fact the Australians faced 162 dot balls, the equivalent of 27 overs, so rarely did the Australians place the England attack under pressure, while adding pressure on themselves.
Effectively they scored 214 off 27 overs at a rate of 10.7 an over – that’s more like it.
Let’s face it, 214 was a very ordinary score on a good batting track with a fast outfield in front of a near capacity crowd that was appreciative of the good shots when they surfaced.
The Australian bowlers fared much better, with two vital periods of three wickets apiece to stay in with a sniff.
The first three went for 38 – Jason Roy with a second ball of the innings duck, Alex Hales (5) and Jonny Bairstow (28) – while the fourth, fifth, and sixth wickets of Eoin Morgan (69), Josh Buttler (9), and Joe Root (50) three went for just 10.
So one down with four to go, with the strangest delivery I’ve ever seen deserving of mention. How on earth did Australian paceman Kane Richardson manage to leave the ball behind him on the ground by banging his right hand on his left knee on delivery? Try it – even a contortionist would find that virtually impossible.
Why can't anything go right for aus
Guest
1carey 2warner 3stoinis 4smith 5finch 6maxi 7m Marsh 8agar 9starc 10tye 11stanlake Reserve batsmen: Chris Lynn, Travis head, uzzie, D'Arcy
Rob
Guest
England a tad worried? That’s 5 out of the last 6 ODI games that they have won against us. Open your eyes!! Dot balls create pressure. Pressure creates wickets. England bowled well as did our lot. Just not as well.
Matt H
Roar Guru
Plus Short can contribute to the 10 overs required by a fifth bowler. He bowls as well as Head and Maxwell and is a bit different.
Christo the Daddyo
Guest
The other thing is the Australian top order batsmen are all nervous starters. Really need a calm head amongst them. Is there a reason Khawaja isn't in the lineup?
Eddie Otto
Roar Guru
The 1st 4 Australian wickets we're soft in the extreme. Head, Finch, S Marsh and Paine. Four of the more experienced players and all of them gifted their wickets away. Was hardly great bowling from England. Could have been a very different outcome with a bit smarter batting up top.
Bretto
Guest
Batting order looked light. Short has to play. Stoinis didn't bowl and Head didn't bowl. Ten overs each from Stanlake, Tye, Agar, Neser/Richardson (drop one) - then you only need 10 from Maxwell, Stonis, Head. You could almost drop both Neser and Richardson, based on the fact most teams now get 20 overs out of spinners. Means Stoinis has to bowl 10, and then 10 between Maxwell/Head. Finch Short Head Marsh (is there someone else?) Maxwell Stonis Paine Agar Neser/Richardson Tye Stanlake
Paul
Roar Guru
David, I think the positives far outweighed the negatives in this game for Australia and if I'm England I'm just a tad worried. The batting was not great by any means, but that can be fixed through better shot selection and better discipline. The top 7 guys, with the exception of Head, got starts and Maxwell batting at nearly a run a ball which, given the circumstances, was a good knock. I also think the conditions favoured England's bowlers as you'd expect, with the ball moving around and off the pitch (not quite the belter they played on in Scotland), so in all, a below par score but not a complete disaster. The bowling was excellent considering the level of experience in the attack. Stanlake, Neser and Tye were impressive in patches and all will learn to bowl well as a combination, the more they play together. Hopefully, the bowlers stay together for another few games, Short comes in to allow Finch to drop down the order and Maxwell gets a few more innings to prove this score was no fluke.