Australia check England
BIRMINGHAM, United Kingdom, June 8 (AFP) - Defending champions
Australia held arch-rivals England to 269 for six in their Champions
Trophy Group A opener at Edgbaston on Saturday.
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Australia’s bowler Clint McKay (L) attempts to kick the ball
at the stumps as England’s batsman Eoin Morgan (C) stretches
to get into his crease during the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy
cricket match between England and Australia at Edgbaston in
Birmingham on June 8, 2013. AFP |
Ian Bell made 91 on his Warwickshire home ground and shared a
second-wicket stand of 111 with county colleague Jonathan Trott (43)
after England captain Alastair Cook won the toss.
At 168 for one in the 34th over, England were looking at a score in
excess of 300.
But Australia pegged them back before an unbroken seventh-wicket
stand of 56 between Ravi Bopara (46 not out) and Tim Bresnan (19 not
out) bolstered England's total.
And they could yet have enough runs if Australia, unchanged from
their 243-run warm-up defeat against India, bat as badly as they did in
being dismissed for just 65 in Cardiff on Tuesday.
Clint McKay took two wickets for 38 runs in his maximum 10 overs and
James Faulkner, one of three Australia left-arm seamers, two for 48.
All-rounder Shane Watson made the initial breakthrough for Australia
when he had Cook caught behind for a fluent 30.
Ahead of next month's Ashes series in England, there was a flare-up
when angry Australia wicket-keeper Matthew Wade thought Trott had
impeded him as he tried to gather a wayward return.
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England’s Ian Bell acknowledgs the cheers of the crowd after
reaching his half century. He went on to score 91 ICC
Champions Trophy cricket match between England and Australia
at Edgbaston in Birmingham, central England, on June 8,
2013. AFP |
Sri Lankan umpire Kumar Dharmasena intervened to calm the situation.
Much later, Trott was caught behind by Wade after chasing a wide ball
from Starc.
south Africa-born Trott, often criticised for slow scoring, took 56
balls over his runs with a lone four.
Bell, who his seven fours, had made just three hundreds in his
previous 130 one-day internationals.
And the 31-year-old was denied a fourth when Faulkner bowled him with
a full length delivery.
Not for the first time, England came unstuck during the batting
powerplay which on Saturday yielded a return of 23 for two, both those
wickets lost on 189.
Eoin Morgan was then bowled by McKay and two balls later Jos Buttler,
fresh from his 16-ball 47 not out against New Zealand on Wednesday,
played on to Faulkner for one.
England had to wait until the penultimate over to see Bopara strike
the first six of the innings off the expensive Starc (one for 75).
Australia remained without captain Michael Clarke, still sidelined with
a recurrence of a longstanding back injury.
Twenty20 skipper George Bailey continued to lead the team in Clarke's
absence. This was the first match in a Group A also including New
Zealand and Sri Lanka, who meet in Cardiff on Sunday. In Group B, India
have already beaten South Africa and West Indies have defeated Pakistan.
The top two teams from each group will go through to the semi-finals,
with the final at Edgbaston on June 23.
Saturday's match was the first of at least 26 England-Australia
clashes across all cricket formats between now and February 2 next year,
including Ashes series in both countries.
ENGLAND
A. Cook c Wade b Watson 30
I. Bell b Faulkner 91
J. Trott c Wade b Starc 43
J. Root c Bailey b McKay 12
E. Morgan b McKay 08
R. Bopara not out 46
J. Buttler b Faulkner 01
T. Bresnan not out 19
Extras (lb12, w6, nb1) 19
Total (6 wkts, 50 overs) 269
Fall of wickets: 1-57 (Cook), 2-168 (Trott), 3-189 (Bell)
4-189 (Root), 5-212 (Morgan), 6-213 (Buttler)
Did not bat: S Broad, J Tredwell, J Anderson.
Bowling: Starc 10-0-75-1 (1nb, 1w)
Johnson 8-0-44-0 (1w)
McKay 10-0-38-2 (1w)
Watson 7-0-26-1
Faulkner 10-0-48-2 (1w)
Voges 3-0-13-0
Marsh 2-0-13-0 (2w) |
