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| Australia thrash undermanned England in first ODI |
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Adelaide: Australia clinched a six-wicket win against an undermanned England in the first ODI of three-match Dettol Series here on Thursday.
Mitchell Starc brought immediate results with his trademark inswinger through the gates of Jason Roy, and Pat Cummins finished with 3-62 from his 10 overs.
Australia's new opening combination David Warner (86 off 84 balls) and Travis Head (69 off 57) hammered a century stand from 88 balls to set up their pursuit of 288, which was topped by Steve Smith's unbeaten 80.
Smith, who spent most of his time warming the bench in the just-concluded T20 World Cup, came into his elements with some sweetly-timed strokes, racing to the boundary quite often.
Upon winning the toss, Cummins opted to bowl first by claiming the Adelaide Oval pitch on which it would be eminently feasible to chase down a target. He proved unerringly correct as England slumped to 5-118 before Dawid Malan's stunning century lifted them to a competitive 287.
But that was always going to be a cakewalk if Warner and Head got going off the blocks, considering the Australian ODI record of 284 they stitched at the same venue against Pakistan six years ago, but today they managed a mere 147.
In truth, England were looking at a par score until Malan put his foot down in the back half of England's innings and scored 134 before he was removed by Adam Zampa as he tried to lift beyond the deep mid-wicket rope for his fifth six.
It was Malan's second ODI century in just his 10th appearance in the format before his downfall was brought about by a remarkable fielding effort.
Malan justifiably felt he had another six in his kitty when he arrogantly flicked Cummins towards deep mid-wicket until Ashton Agar launched himself skywards inside the rope, plucked the ball in his left hand and flung it back into the field of play before landing near the fence.
This stunning save not only deprived Malan, but also denied England five runs, ensuring he was on strike for the start of the next over when he again lofted Agar in the deep, only this time for a legal catch.
Malan was ably supported by David Willey (34 no off 40 balls) which helped England to double up their total.
The innings' resurrection began with Malan's 52-run stand with skipper Jos Buttler who paced the run rate with 29 from 34 balls.
Unfortunately, the addition of newbees Jason Roy (6), James Vince (5) and Sam Billings (17) did not deliver the goods England had hoped as they slumped to 4-66 in the 14th over.
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