Clinical England go 1-0 up

England displayed a fine show of batting to be followed by a disciplined bowling show to win the first ODI against England by 15 runs.

It was an overcast morning and Australian skipper Michael Clarke had no hesitation in choosing to bowl. His bowlers started off well as England openers were a touch slow, but steady. Rain played its part and we had as many as two interruptions in the first hour.

Alastair Cook and Ian Bell then started to assert their dominance and ended the Quick Start Overs on 37/0. Powerplay 2 then made its presence felt as Brett Lee trapped Bell LBW and England managed just 24/1 in that period. Cook followed him and when Bopara fell in the 29th over, it looked as if England were in trouble at 121/3.

Jonathan Trott and Eoin Morgan then steadied the proceedings with a solid 68-run stand for the fourth wicket and also added 40 runs in Powerplay 3. Xavier Doherty then cleaned up Trott on the first ball of the 41st over but Australia’s troubles had just begun. Morgan was joined by Craig Kieswetter and the duo tore into the bowling attack, hammering 83/2 in the Extreme Performance Overs, finishing on a mammoth 272/5. Eoin Morgan top scored with an unbeaten 89 from 63 balls, with 5 fours and 4 sixes and a Batting Momentum of 161. All the Aussie bowlers finished with a wicket each with Clint McKay being the pick of the bowlers with a Bowling Efficiency of 108 for his 1/43 in 10 overs.

Have a look at the scorecard.

Australia got off to a poor start, losing Shane Watson in the 6th over. David Warner and George Bailey then steadied the proceedings and took Australia to 50/1 by the end of the Quick Start Overs, thanks to some brilliant counter-attacking. Cook delayed the Bowling Powerplay and when he finally took it in the 18th over, it worked wonders.

James Anderson struck twice in the space of 3 balls to remove Bailey and Warner and the Aussies were back in trouble. They were pegged back and Powerplay 2 yielded just 33 runs for the loss of 2 wickets. Clarke and David Hussey were at the crease and the Aussie skipper took a gamble, opting for the Batting Powerplay in the 29th over.

But it did not pay off as Hussey fell in the second over and Steven Smith perished in the final over as Powerplay 3 yielded just 17 runs for the loss of 2 wickets. Australia were pegged back quite badly, needing 125 from 102 balls with half their side back in the hut. But the men in yellow did not give up and Clarke found an able partner in Matthew Wade.

The duo added 57 for the sixth wicket before a poor call resulted in the run out of Wade and England were back in it again. Tim Bresnan delivered the killer blow, trapping Clarke LBW. Brett Lee played a cameo of an unbeaten 29 towards the end but it was a bit too much to do for the lower order.

Eventually, England won by 15 runs as Australia finished on 257/9. Michael Clarke top scored with 61 and finished with a Batting Momentum of 80. For England, Steven Finn was the pick of the bowlers with 2/47 in 10 overs and a Bowling Efficiency of 126.

England finished on a Castrol Index of 355 while Australia ended up with a value of 323. Australia came close only in Powerplay 3 as England won all the departments.

Eoin Morgan was named the Man Of The Match and he finished with the best value on the Castrol Index, 61. For Australia, Brett Lee was the best performer with 42 points.

The second ODI will be played on Sunday, 1st July, 2012 at 0915 GMT.