1st T20I: England beat Australia by 8 runs, break 11-year-old jinx

Oct 10, 2022

1st T20I: England beat Australia by 8 runs, break 11-year-old jinx Image

At the Perth Stadium on Sunday, England defeated Australia by eight runs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

The victory was England's first in a men's T20I match in Australia in eleven years. At a T20I match against Australia, they have only ever won once, in Adelaide in 2011. From that point until the game on Sunday, England dropped all six Twenty20 internationals they played in Australia.

When England was given the opportunity to bat, Jos Buttler and Alex Hales mocked Australia's backup attack—none of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, or Glenn Maxwell made the lengthy trek west—and amassed a 132-run opening stand to put England on track for a sizable total.

It was also England's second-highest first-wicket partnership in T20 internationals for men in Australia. The middle-order batsmen Stokes (9), Harry Brook (12), Moeen (10), and Sam Curran (2) struggled to make runs fast and were out at frequent intervals after Buttler (68 off 32) and Hales (84 off 51) were dismissed.

Chris Woakes (13 not out off 5) made significant contributions later in the order nevertheless, and as a result, England eventually scored their second total of 200 or more in Australia. In 20 overs, they scored 208-6 runs.

Cameron Green, who was selected for the side in place of Steve Smith and started the batting instead of Aaron Finch, was out for just ten runs for the second game in a row as they chased a high total. However, Marsh and Warner revived their great chemistry from the previous World Cup by putting on a 75-run partnership for the second wicket to set up Australia's pursuit with a strong foundation.

Warner spearheaded Australia's run chase with a magnificent half-century as Marsh (36), Aaron Finch (12), and others were dismissed at various points.

Mark Wood was the one who made England the winner of the match. Marcus Stoinis (35) and Tim David (0) were both removed from the game in the same over, while Warner (73 off 44) was the coveted victim in the final ball of his spell.

Reece Topley bowled a superb last over that only yielded six runs, keeping England in the game despite Matthew Wade's late fireworks. Sam Curran shown composure to dismiss dangerman Wade (21 off 15) with 16 needed off the final over while allowing just seven runs to be scored, helping England to an eight-run victory.

Wednesday and Friday games in Canberra will be the next in the series. The T20 World Cup for England begins on October 22 against Afghanistan after a warm-up match on October 17 against Pakistan.

Brief scores: England 208/6 in 20 overs (Alex Hales 84, Jos Butler 68; Nathan Ellis 3/20) beat Australia 200/ 9 in 20 overs (David Warner 73, Mitchell Marsh 36; Mark Wood 3/34) by 8 runs.