The Head-Labuschagne Show Silenced English Fans In Their 1st ODI Match at Trent Bridge .

ENGLAND VS AUSTRALIA, 1ST ODI, TRENT BRIDGE : The Head-Labuschagne Show Silenced English Fans In Their 1st ODI Match at Trent Bridge .

Travis Head knocked a personal best 154 not out as injury-riddled world champs Australia clobbered England by seven wickets in the opening one-day international at Trent Bridge on Thursday. With a target of 316, Australia comfortably finished on 317-3, with six overs left, taking a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. Marnus Labuschagne remained unbeaten at 77, sharing an unbroken 148-run partnership with opener Head in just under 18 overs. Before that, part-time leg-spinner Labuschagne took 3-39, sending opener Ben Duckett back for 95 as England wrapped up their innings at 315. The Head-Labuschagne Show Silenced English Fans In Their 1st ODI Match at Trent Bridge .

Toss –

England’s new skipper Harry Brook won the toss & chose to bat first.

Teams Line Up –

Australia (Playing XI):

Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh(c), Steven Smith, Cameron Green, Marnus Labuschagne, Alex Carey(w), Matthew Short, Aaron Hardie, Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis, Adam Zampa.

England (Playing XI):

Philip Salt, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Harry Brook(c), Jamie Smith(w), Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid.

ENGLAND-

England’s innings kicked off nicely. Duckett and Phil Salt added 48 runs until debutant Dwarshuis cramped Salt for room & sent him packing. Duckett and Will Jacks (62) then took charge. They added a solid stand of 120 runs for the second wicket. Duckett hit his fifty off 49 balls—not too quick considering his fast start which saw him hammer Sean Abbott for four boundaries during the Power Play.

Abbott rounded out his spell with numbers of 5-0-50-0 but got punished by Jacks who reached his fifty off just 45 balls. At a strong position of 213/2 in the 33rd over post-Brook’s batting decision things looked good for England but they didn’t last.

A clever bowling switch by Marsh brought in Labuschagne who shifted the game’s momentum. Introduced in the same over Labuschagne struck gold on his fourth delivery; catching Duckett bowled out-and-caught! In the very next over he got Brook similarly and later claimed Jofra Archer’s wicket too – turning around the innings like magic!

Marsh ended up using over thirty spin overs—third most ever bowled by Australia in an ODI match. From there Australia preferred spinners like Travis Head (2-34) & others to close England’s innings down in Nottingham’s decent batting conditions.

Yeah… Australia’s spin strategy worked perfectly!

Adam Zampa, who was pricey early on, came back for a second spell and got Jacks out. Brook added 45 runs for the third wicket. Then Marsh called on Labuschagne, whose spell changed the whole game. England’s second half? A real letdown—they lost 8 wickets for just 102 runs.

Jacob Bethell’s quick 35 off 34 balls helped them cross 300, but it just wasn’t enough against a strong Aussie team.

AUSTRALIA

Australia lost their captain, Mitchell Marsh, to Matthew Potts early on. But Head teamed up with Steve Smith for a partnership of 76 runs, and then with Cameron Green for another 73. The left-handed opener hit 20 fours & 5 sixes. He reached his hundred in just 92 balls and then kicked it up a notch with Labuschagne by his side. Labuschagne looked pretty comfy against the spinners on Nottingham’s dry pitch late in the season.

England’s bowlers had it rough—Adil Rashid didn’t take a single wicket (0-59). On the flip side, Australia’s spinners were key after their debutant Ben Dwarshuis wasn’t available due to an injury (pectorals). Australia also missed Josh Hazlewood & Mitch Starc who were both sick. Jofra Archer made a return to ODIs after being out for 18 months but ended up with figures of 0-53 in six overs.

Travis Head’s all-round efforts (154* & 2-34) along with Marnus Labuschagne (77* & 3-39) led Australia to an easy seven-wicket win over England in the first ODI at Trent Bridge.

Brief Scores:

England got all out at 315 in just under their allotted overs—49.4 (Duckett scored a strong 95, Jacks made a solid contribution of 62; Labuschagne picked up key wickets with figures of 3-39, Zampa took crucial wickets too at 3-49). Australia chased it down comfortably at 317/3 in only 44 overs (Head smashed his way to an unbeaten154*, while Labuschagne chipped in with an unbeaten satisfied-with-his-contribution score of77*; Bethell did decent work bowling too at1-20), winning by a margin of seven wickets.