England began their tour of Australia on a positive note as they defeated the hosts by eight runs in the first of three T20Is ahead of the T20 World Cup. Alex Hales and Jos Buttler hammered fifties at the top before seamers held their nerves to seal a victory in a high-scoring first T20I at Optus Stadium on Sunday.
Hales was the top scorer of the match with 84 off 51, while David Warner kept Australia ahead of the game with a brilliant 73 off 44. Buttler also smashed a 32-ball 68 for England. With the ball, there were several impact performers from both sides in Nathan Ellis, Mark Wood, Sam Curran and Reece Topley.
Aaron Finch, playing without his frontline bowling attack, chose to field first after winning the toss. Things went instantly bad for them as Jos Buttler came out as if he hadn’t missed a beat during his injury layoff. Along with Hales – who needed a good innings in order to stay ahead of Phil Salt in the pecking order – he punished the Aussie bowlers, putting on 58 runs in the powerplay.
Buttler completed his 16th T20I fifty off 25 balls, while Hales reached the milestone in 29 balls. The duo brought up the 100-run stand in just 8.5 overs and were 118 for no loss at the halfway mark. Nathan Ellis, who was the most impressive bowler on the day, provided the first breakthrough for the hosts as Buttler miscued a shot to mid-off.
Ben Stokes, returning to the format after 14 months, could not find the right tempo and was caught at long-on for a run-a-ball 9. Hales continued his onslaught from the other end, smashing 12 fours and three sixes in his knock. When he holed out at long-off, England were 167/3 in 15.2 overs, and a total in excess of 220 looks possible.
However, the Australian bowlers pulled things back pretty well, especially Ellis – who conceded just one run in the 19th over and picked two wickets. Kane Richardson was taken for 14 runs in the last over as England reached 208/6.
Warner came out all guns blazing, taking 15 runs off Chris Woakes in the first over. But Reece Topley provided the breakthrough on his first ball, having Cameron Green edge to the keeper. Mitchell Marsh and Warner – the combination that worked so well for the Aussies in the previous world cup – kept up with the rate as they added 71 runs for the second wicket in 7.2 overs. Adil Rashid knocked over Marsh with a brilliant googly to bring England back in the game.
Finch, moving to number four to try out Green at the top in case of late injuries, was run out for 12 off 7. Marcus Stoinis removed any doubts about his place in the side by blasting 35 runs in just 15 balls. He, along with Warner, added 53 runs in just four overs to put Australia firmly in the driving seat.
Wood had other ideas. He had conceded 24 runs in his first two overs, but England needed a wicket, and he not only delivered but also continued to bowl at a rapid pace and had his reward when Stoinis skied one to cover. In the same over, Wood bounced out dangerous Tim David for a duck.
Warner was still there, and the dynamic left-hander took 11 runs off Moeen Ali in the next over to bring down the equation to 40 off the last four overs. Wood was the game-changer again as he had Warner caught at a deep point on the final ball of his spell.
Matthew Wade took 14 runs off Sam Curran before Topley bowled an excellent 19th over, giving away just six runs. Curran bowled brilliantly in the final over to dismiss Wade with a slower ball and seal the victory.
Brief scores
England 208/7 (Hales 84, Jos Buttler 68; Ellis 3/20) beat Australia 200/9 (Warner 73, Stoinis 35; Wood 3/34, Curran 2/35,Topley 2/36) by eight runs.
