All-round efforts from Travis Head (154* & 2-34) and Marnus Labuschagne (77* & 3-39) gave Australia a comfortable seven-wicket victory over England in the opening ODI at Trent Bridge.
Travis Head‘s superb career-best 154 not out saw depleted world champions Australia to a seven-wicket win over England in the first one-day international at Trent Bridge on Thursday. Australia, set 316 for victory, finished on 317-3 with six overs to spare as they went 1-0 up in a five-match series to make it 13 ODI wins in a row against all opponents. Earlier, Marnus Labuschagne was the unlikely hero with the ball as Australia fought back after losing the toss.
Travis Head continued his red-hot form by smashing his second 150+ score in ODI cricket as Australia easily chased down a 316-run target against England to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. Travis Head also claimed two wickets to clinch the Player of the Match award. Playing their first ODI game since a memorable triumph in the ICC World Cup 2023 in India, Australia displayed their dominance with a successive sixth ODI win over the Three Lions.
Pitch and Toss
The surface at Trent Bridge will favour the batters. The pacers are likely to get some help in the initial overs but overall, it’s a good surface for batting. Anything over 320 runs can be considered to be a good total on the board.
England skipper Phil Salt won the toss and chose to bat . Australia skipper Mitchell Marsh who also wanted to bowl first had Ben Dwarshuis making his debut in the playing XI.
Australian Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne restricted England to 315 despite solid start
For England, it was a case of what-might-have-been, not least for Duckett, whose self-admonishment was plain as day after he gave away an international century for the second time this month, after his 86 in the Oval Test against Sri Lanka.
In his first opportunity to reprise that now-familiar opener’s role in ODIs, Duckett took particular toll of a nervy Sean Abbott, clubbing four fours in an over en route to a 49-ball fifty, meaning that Marsh was already searching for alternate bowlers, even before it had been confirmed that Dwarshuis had strained a pectoral muscle with an off-balance shy from the outfield.
Zampa had been the scourge of England’s batting in their most recent ODI encounter, claiming 3 for 21 at Ahmedabad in the 2023 World Cup. However, Jacks thumped his second ball back over his head for six, and as the hundred stand came up in 86 balls, he’d leaked 27 runs in his first three-over foray by the end of the 19th.
In his 100th ODI, however, Zampa couldn’t be kept out of the action for long, as Jacks drove on the up to cover, but by the time Brook had stepped into two superbly poised drives over cover for six off Short’s part-timers, England were ominously placed on 201 for 2 after 30 overs.
Enter Labuschagne, for what seemed to be a speculative spell of leg breaks. However, his impact was that of a perfectly deployed secret weapon. With the fourth ball of his spell, he landed a googly that stuck just enough in the pitch to confound Duckett’s back-foot push, and he reached to his left to pluck the simplest of caught-and-bowleds. One over later, out came that googly again, and Brook this popped another mistimed push straight back to the bowler.
Jamie Smith came and went for 23, caught in the deep two balls after Aaron Hardie at deep midwicket had been forced to sacrifice a chance in order to save the boundary, and at 256 for 5, England’s hopes of a 350-plus innings were back in the hands of their main men from the T20I series, Liam Livingstone and Bethell, who was making his second format debut of the week.
Zampa, however, still had three overs up his sleeve, and no sooner had he returned to the attack, Livingstone chose to take him down. It was a suboptimal option. A huge thrash through the line skewed to Green at long-on, and the rest came meekly. Far too meekly, as it turned out.
England appeared strong at 213/2 in the 33rd over after Brook opted to bat, but an inspired bowling change from Marsh saw Labuschagne come on and change the course of the innings. Labuschagne, introduced in the 33rd over, struck with his fourth delivery, removing Ben Duckett caught-and-bowled.
He followed it up by dismissing Brook (caught-and-bowled again) in his next over and went on to add Jofra Archer’s wicket, capping an innings-turning spell that prompted Marsh to employ over 30 overs of spin, the third-most Australia have bowled in an ODI. Australia didn’t bowl a single over of pace after the 32nd, relying on Travis Head (2-34) and others to close out the innings on a decent batting wicket in Nottingham.
England’s innings started well with Duckett and Phil Salt adding 48 runs before Salt was cramped for room and bowled by debutant Dwarshuis. Duckett and Will Jacks (62) then took control, adding 120 runs for the second wicket. Duckett reached his fifty off 49 balls, a modest strike rate considering his fast start, which saw him hammer Sean Abbott for four boundaries in the PowerPlay. Abbott, who finished with figures of 5-0-50-0, later endured punishment from Jacks, who reached his fifty off 45 balls.
Adam Zampa, expensive early on, returned for a second spell to dismiss Jacks. Brook added 45 runs for the third wicket before Marsh turned to Labuschagne, whose spell transformed the innings. England’s second half was disappointing, the hosts losing 8 wickets for 102 runs. Jacob Bethell’s 35 off 34 helped them surpass 300, but it was insufficient against a dominant Australian side.
At the scene of their then-record pummeling in 2018, and with Duckett and Will Jacks proving once again what an invitingly flat pitch Trent Bridge can be, Australia had been bracing themselves for another huge chase at 213 for 2 in the 33rd over.
But then, up popped the lesser-spotted leg breaks of Marnus Labuschagne, whose haul of 3 for 39 in six overs not only included the key scalps of Duckett and Harry Brook, both to looping return catches, but also lit a fire under Australia’s premier leggie Adam Zampa, who responded to a leaky first three overs with final figures of 3 for 49.
Matthew Short’s offspin also returned a maiden ODI wicket, and when Head served notice that this contest now belonged to him, by picking up Jacob Bethell and Adil Rashid with consecutive deliveries, England had been bowled out for 315 in a dramatic collapse of 8 for 102 in 17.1 overs. In total, Australia’s spinners claimed 9 for 190 in 30.4: it was a combined impact that England’s own spin cohort, led by Adil Rashid – who remains one wicket shy of 200 in ODIs – couldn’t come close to matching.
Travis Head blistering 154 not out sets up Australian victory in the 1st ODI
So it proved, with Australia outgunning England by 10 sixes to eight, five from Head, and three from Steve Smith in a notably aggressive cameo at the top of the order. After the early loss of Mitchell Marsh, Smith’s commitment to attack pushed his team ahead of the rate at 69 for 1 after the powerplay, and allowed Head, with a run-a-ball fifty, to settle in for the longer haul.
Travis Head had a moment of fortune on 6, when Brydon Carse – in from the boundary at deep point – all but clawed down a replica of Ben Stokes’ “you cannot do that” epic from the 2019 World Cup. But the feature of Head’s early innings was a fascinating duel with Jofra Archer, making his first ODI appearance in 18 months.
Armed with the new ball, Archer bowled a handful of unplayable deliveries, including a cutter that left Head wide-eyed with wonder, but he was also picked off for 53 runs in six overs, including a fabulous flick for six off the toes that obliged him to return the look of incredulity.
Labuschagne, like Travis Head, was only just warming up in that phase of the game. After arriving almost slap-bang in the middle of Australia’s chase, at 169 for 3 in the 27th over after Cameron Green had become Bethell’s maiden ODI wicket, there was almost no one better equipped to act as a foil to the now free-flowing Head. His pitch-perfect innings of 77 not out from 61 balls included the winning boundary off Jacks with a full six overs left unused, to cap an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 148 from 107 balls.
Chasing a target of 316, Travis Head notched up his sixth ODI hundred, his highest score in the format, as the visitors raced past the target with six overs to spare. Travis Head and Labuschagne put on an unbeaten 148-run partnership off just 107 balls for the fourth wicket, leaving captain Harry Brook scrambling for a breakthrough on his England captaincy debut.
Australia lost their captain Mitchell Marsh to Matthew Potts early, but Travis Head went on to form crucial partnerships of 76 with Steve Smith and 73 with Cameron Green. The left-handed opener, who hit 20 fours and 5 sixes, reached his hundred off 92 balls before accelerating further with Labuschagne, who looked comfortable against the spinners on a late-season dry Nottingham pitch.
England’s bowling struggles were epitomized by Adil Rashid’s wicketless outing (0-59), while Australia’s spinners made the difference after debutant Ben Dwarshuis was unavailable due to a pectoral muscle injury. Australia were also without Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, who were sidelined by illness. Jofra Archer, who made a comeback in ODIs after 18 months on the sidelines, had figures of 0-53 in his six overs.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Harry Brook the loosing skipper said : We did everything we wanted to do. We scored quickly and tried to take wickets, but not our day today. We were eyeing a big score, but it was difficult against the spinners. We didn’t rotate strike as well and ended up getting a below par score. (Duckett and Jacks) Them two played very well, I felt good too. Rash and a few other boys bowled nicely as well, those are the positives for us. Hopefully, we can build on this and keep the momentum going
Mitchell Marsh the winning skipper said : Very happy, great win. Especially after England got a great start and we pulled them back in.(On Labuschagne bowling) I’d love to take credit but it was a forced change.
And the longer the innings went, we felt pace off was the way to go for us. I think the calmness within the group was great to see, we have a few young guys out here. There is a bit of illness going around in the camp as well. We have a lot of trust in the people out here, hope we can keep winning.
Travis Head for his 154 Not Out is Player of the Match said : (Is batting too easy for him?) It’s never the case, got a bit lucky at the start. Jofra bowled a hell of a spell but when you can get through it, there are runs on offer, especially on this outfield and pitch. We did well to keep it at 315, used different people.
Then to survive the early spell from Jofra and build some partnerships was great. The environment is great, and having a clear blueprint and role in the team. I try to enjoy what I’m doing and it is coming off for me.
16 chased on a canter, but that’s what happens when Travis Head has an Asterix next to his name after batting more than 40 overs. A tough learning curve for new skipper Harry Brook as he felt the full wrath of the Travis Head whirlwind, which was accompanied by a few gusts from Marnus Labuschagne as well today.
Australia lost Mitch Marsh early, but they managed to get a partnership going between Smith and Travis Head. The southpaw looked a bit sketchy in the powerplay, but found his groove later and always stayed ahead of the asking rate. Smith and Green contributed cute 30s, but Travis Head was the showstopper.
Australia were slightly bothered at 169/3, but Marnus Labuschagne steadied the ship with a superb 77 after a sketchy start. The fourth wicket partnership carried on for 148 runs, as Australia chased a target of 316 with more than six overs to spare. England’s bowlers weren’t poor, but the Aussie batters were always ahead of the asking rate and in hindsight, England losing the way in the final 15 overs of their batting innings would be where the game was won and lost.
It was a tale of two unconventional opening batters at Trent Bridge, both aggressive left-handers, both with a love of placing bat on ball, especially through anything remotely off-line or length. But where Ben Duckett’s innings ended tamely, on 95 from 91 balls, to open the door for a spirited Australia fightback, Travis Head’s powered onwards and upwards, to 154 not out from 129, and ultimately to a seven-wicket victory in the first ODI
That converted century, Head’s sixth in 66 ODIs and his second against England, was the fundamental reason why Australia overcame the odds, including a sickness bug that robbed them of a swathe of key names, not least Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc – two of the “big three” (alongside the absent Pat Cummins) without any of whose presence Australia had lost each of their last eight completed ODIs against England.
The other reason was the resilience of their makeshift attack, stretched to eight personnel including four spinners once Ben Dwarshuis – fresh from bowling Phil Salt on his international debut – had been forced to leave the field after just four overs with a strained pectoral muscle.