London: Josh Hazlewood took three wickets as Australia beat world champions England by 19 runs to win the first one-day international at Old Trafford on Friday.
Hazlewood struck twice early on during a miserly haul of 3-26 from his full 10 overs as Australia defeated arch-rivals England for just the third time in 14 ODIs.
England, chasing 295 for victory, were a mere 22-2 off their first 10 overs.
And they were 57-4 when leg-spinner Adam Zampa struck twice in quick succession on his way to 4-55.
But Sam Billings, one of just two members of the England side who didn’t play in last year’s World Cup final, hit 118 — his maiden ODI hundred — after sharing a fifth-wicket stand of 113 with Jonny Bairstow (84) that gave the hosts hope of an unlikely win.
Hazlewood, adjudged Man of the Match, said, ‘ Really enjoyed it.
The batting did well, not a good start but in the end to get (close to) 300 was fantastic. I was happy and the ball was coming out nicely. We made the most of the conditions.
We were lucky to get early wickets and put them under pressure. It’s based on the schedule, it’s hard to get momentum.
It’s important to stay fresh and I’m loving my time with the white ball. Coming off without many games, it has been challenging.’
Winning captain Aaron Finch, said, ‘ Itwas a nice start. The ball seamed around, Jofra exploited and they bowled nicely with the new ball. Overall, it was a good game of cricket. It was a great partnership (Marsh and Maxwell), they played smart and matured innings. I thought on that wicket, if we bowled well, we knew we had a chance. I was confident that we would pull it off.’
England skipper Morgan said, ‘Australia bowled outstandingly well. We felt we could chase it down if we could establish a few partnerships. Jonny and Billings kept us in the game for very long. Full credit to Australia. They played well, we did everything to get into that position but we let them recover. Sam’s opportunity has been limited and sporadic, but coming and getting a score today is outstanding. Showed a lot of resilience. Batting at 5 and 6 is an area that we need to improve.’