ENG VS AUS 1ST ODI

Right then, that is it from the first ODI where Australia takes the early lead in the series by getting a dominating win over England. The action now moves to Headingley in Leeds where the 2nd ODI will be played on the 21st of September, Saturday. The first ball will be bowled at 10 am GMT, but as you know you can always join us early for all the build-up to the same. Until then, cheers and goodbye!

Mitchell Marsh, the victorious skipper of Australia says that he is very happy with the win. Adds that England got to a great start with the bat, but the way his bowlers fought back was good to see and that set the tone for the chase. Says that bowling Marnus Labuschagne was a forced change due to the injury to Ben Dwarshuis and he wishes that he could take credit for it, but he cannot. Mentions that the illness going around in the team is out of control and they will have to manage that. Says that taking pace off worked in these conditions. Ends by saying that they have a lot of trust in the players who are getting the opportunity and he is looking forward to the next one.

Harry Brook, the captain of England says they did what they said they would do and put the Aussies under pressure, but they couldn't execute with the ball. He adds that it was difficult to bat on in the middle over against the spinners as it gripped, and they also failed to rotate the strike. He mentions that he, Ben Duckett, and others batted well, but they just failed to capitalize at the end, and that cost them, but they'll bounce back in the next game.

Travis Head is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH for his outstanding unbeaten knock of 154 off 129 balls. He says he got a bit lucky at the start but the wicket was good to bat on and he made the most of it. Adds that they just wanted to bat through and build partnerships and as a team they played spin really well. Talks about the environment in the team and says it's fun and he is enjoying what he is doing for the team.

Presentation Time...

Earlier in the game, England posted a good total but they would have hoped for a lot more with the start that they got. Ben Duckett led the charge for the hosts with fantastic 95 just missing out on his ton. Will Jacks also supported him well with an excellent half-century. The middle order couldn't really take full advantage of the platform but there were some decent contributions from skipper Harry Brook and Jamie Smith. A good cameo from debutant, Jacob Bethell at the death got them over that 300-run mark. For Australia, it was really spin-to-win tactics. Ben Dwarshuis started things with his maiden ODI wicket, but it was the spinners who led the fight back. Adam Zampa and Marnus Labuschagne both picked up three wickets each with Travis Head ending up with a couple while Matthew Short chipped in with one.

England, on the other hand, were pretty good initially with Jofra Archer and Matthew Potts both getting past the outside edges of the batters. Potts finally got the reward by removing Mitchell Marsh, but the hosts couldn't really build on that, so they allowed the Aussies to make a threatening partnership. The bowling change from Harry Brook worked as Liam Livingstone got rid of the dangerous Steven Smith not long after the field restrictions were lifted. However, taking wickets was a struggle for them throughout the game as they only only manged one more with Jacob Bethell getting his maiden ODI wicket. They just did not have any answers to the explosive batting of Travis Head and then the class of Marnus Labuschagne also proved to be too much for their bowlers to handle.

After that, Cameron Green came in and steadied the ship along with Travis Head who kept on smashing it all around the park. The duo  added 73 runs and kept the chasing cruising along but just like Smith, Green also departed on the same score. Head though, did blast his way to a sizzling hundred. What looked like an opening for the hosts was quickly shut down by Marnus Labuschagne who initially rotated the strike and let Head take charge but once the target came in double figures, he started to attack as well. The pair made it look very easy picking their gaps and punishing the bowlers on demand. Marnus also brought up his half-century in the process as well. Both of them remained unbeaten and their massive partnership of 148 runs made sure they got the job done early with six overs still to spare.

Australia got off to a good start but over-aggressiveness from Mitchell Marsh cost him his wicket early. However, that didn't affect Head one bit as he continued to play the only way he knows - 'Attack, Attack, and Attack. Steven Smith joined him and he too didn't hold back and played his shots not letting the bowlers to settle. They utilised the Powerplay nicely and added 76 runs together. Head notched up a quick fifty but unfortunately Smith fell at 32 off 28.

Now that's what you call a clinical victory! This is why they are the WORLD CHAMPIONS, aren't they? A fabulous run chase while keeping control right from the start and more pleasing to have done this without the big guns like Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Glenn Maxwell. The man of the moment, Travis Head leaves Trent Bridge as the hero for the Aussies after an unbeaten 154 off 129 balls while Marnus Labuschagne remaining not out on 77 off 61. However, it was not all easy as they were in a bit of a difficult situation while bowling, and surprisingly, the spinners started the fightback and the batters finished the job comfortably. For England and Harry Brook, a lot of learnings to take from this game as they still have four games left in this series to make an impact.

FOUR! Now that's a wrap! Australia has demolished England with a 7-wicket victory and 6 overs to spare. Short of a length around off, Marnus Labuschagne as he has done throughout the game, uses the depth of the crease and cuts this past cover-point for a boundary to seal the deal.

Short and wide outside off, Travis Head slaps this to deep point for one.

Short of a length, wide of off. Travis Head slaps this towards short cover for no run.

Full and wide outside off, Marnus Labuschagne flicks this towards deep square for one.

Tossed up around middle and leg, Travis Head drills this to long on for one.

Floated around the pads, Travis Head edges this in front of the bowler for nothing.

FOUR! Swept away for four more. Flighted around the pads, Marnus Labuschagne takes a good stride in front and sweeps this towards the deep square leg region for a boundary. This boundary leads to the departure of the majority of the English crowd as they have also accepted the fate of this game.