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ToggleTravis Head, Australia opener, received rich praise from England’s interim head coach Marcus Trescothick after he demolished England in the first ODI of the five-match series that was played in Nottingham.
Travis Head pillaged England at Trent Bridge, wielding his bat like a claymore carried down from Scotland, adding more weight to his case for joining Usman Khawaja at the top of the Test batting order this summer.
Travis Head was at his combative best, hitting a career-high 154 not out to support Australia’s chase of 316. Chasing 316, the Australians cruised to a seven-wicket victory with six overs remaining, taking a 1-0 lead in the five-game ODI series.
It was a particularly pleasing night for Head, who got off to a shaky start before smashing an unbeaten 154 off 129 balls. His sixth and largest ODI century was also the best score by an Australian in England.
Travis Head lauded by Marcus Trescothick
“He’s a serious player. The form he’s in and the way he’s going about his work is very tough for us. You can see how good a player he is and the impact he has had on all the games. If he gets in and gets momentum going, he’s hard to bowl at, for sure. Eventually the worm will turn and hopefully we get on top of that and get a bit of luck on the other side,” Trescothick said after the match.
Head received plenty of assistance from Labuschagne, who played a supporting role in last year’s World Cup final with a fluent 77 from 62 balls.
Ben Duckett’s knock goes in vain as England only muster 315 runs
England had a very good chance of putting on more than 350 runs on the board after stand-in captain Harry Brook won the toss and chose to bat. Ben Duckett scored a brilliant 95 and added 120 runs with Will Jacks, who made 62 runs.
At 2-213 in the 33rd over, England were on the verge of a total that Head might not have been able to match. However, it was his slow bowling, combined with that of Labuschagne and the irrepressible Adam Zampa, that helped Australia recover.
Together, they split eight wickets, employing spin with intelligence to limit England’s supply of boundaries, frustrating the home side’s batters and resulting in an 8-102 loss in as many balls. England were bowled out with two deliveries remaining.
England could only muster 315 runs before being bowled out with 2 balls remaining of their 50-over quota.