The first of three T20 matches between the bitter cricket rivals saw England’s white-ball sides lose to Australia by 28 runs on Wednesday, marking a rough start to a new era for the team.
Australia was put to bat and was bowled out for 179 with three balls remaining at the Utilita Bowl in Southampton, an inadequate total considering they had hammered 86 off the powerplay and were 118-2 after ten overs. With eight fours and four sixes in his knock of 59, Travis Head struck a 19-ball fifty to put the Australians ahead early.
England struggled to 52-4 with a batting lineup that included uncapped players Jordan Cox and Jacob Bethell in place of injured skipper Jos Buttler. Following a 54-run stand between Liam Livingstone (37) and Sam Curran (18) that looked to be a fightback, England lost three wickets in ten balls, falling to 113-7 before being all out for 151 with four balls remaining.
The other matches in the T20 series are in Cardiff on Friday and Manchester on Sunday. Then comes a five-match ODI series between the teams, where Buttler — England’s white-ball talisman — may return from his right calf injury that will cause him to miss the T20s
Three players without international experience were named in England’s starting eleven, along with Phil Salt serving as a stand-in captain. Jamie Overton, 30, was also selected for the first time. After disappointing defenses of their 50-over and T20 World Cup titles in the previous year, the English are looking to the future. As a result, they have restructured the squad and parted ways with veteran players like Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, and Dawid Malan, the latter two of whom have since retired from international cricket.
The hosts were overpowered by Australia’s more experienced squad, with Head and Matthew Short’s opening partnership of 86 runs (41 off 26 balls) providing a solid foundation.
Curran bowled the opening over, and Head blasted 30 runs off it before vanishing from the England attack
After spinners Adil Rashid and Livingstone arrived, the run pace was slowed, and Australia soon began to lose wickets at a rapid clip – the last eight bowled out for 61.
During the chase, Bethell, 20, only managed two runs, while Cox, 23, was out for an inexplicable 17 from 12 balls. Additionally, Overton made 15 runs while batting in the top seven of a flimsy and inexperienced lineup.
Australia’s fielding was excellent; Tim David’s catch to remove Cox, made on the dive as he turned and ran into the leg side, stood out in particular.
“We dragged it back quite nicely in the middle, but Heady came out swinging in the powerplay and gave them a head start,” Salt remarked.
Regarding Head, he continued, “He can do that.” “He’s been doing that everywhere for a few years now; each ball is a separate event.”
