ICC Champions Trophy: England vs Australia - Hits and Misses

England defeated the defending champions Australia by 48 runs at Edgbaston to get their Champions Trophy campaign off to a winning start. In the first of the many encounters between the two sides this season, the home team came up with a clinical effort with the bat to post 269/6, which many thought was a par score on a placid track, before producing a top bowling effort to restrict Australia to 221/9.

Here’s a look at some of the performances that caught the eye:

Ian Bell – The home boy hits a home run

Ian Bell is one of the most technically accomplished batsman in world cricket right now and he did his reputation no harm with a well compiled 91 off 115 deliveries. Though some would say he could have accelerated a bit, especially against the part-timer Adam Voges, his job was to make sure that England didn’t lose early wickets and he fulfilled it to the tee. Though he missed a hometown hundred, his knock laid a solid platform for batsmen to follow.

Ravi Bopara – Giving the finishing touches

The innings was meandering aimlessly when Ravi Bopara came out to bat and with England’s ordained hit-men, Eoin Morgan and Jos Butler, back in the pavilion, a sub-250 score seemed to be on the cards. But Bopara had other ideas as he combined with Tim Bresnan and upped the ante in the final overs to take the score to a respectable 269/6. His unbeaten 37-ball 46 included 3 hits to the fence and the only six of the England innings. He also chipped in with a wicket in his 5 overs of medium pace.

James Anderson – The spearhead

The leader of the attack was sorely missed in the recent series against New Zealand and the ace paceman showed his utility in his comeback game. He was spot on with the new ball and though he didn’t pick any wickets, he kept the pressure on by bowling in the right channel.

Anderson came back into the attack during the batting power-play and in the first over of his second spell, he virtually ended the contest by sending back Mitchell Marsh and Matthew Wade. His eventual figures read 3/30 in 10 overs and in the process he also went past Darren Gough’s wicket tally of 235 scalps to become England’s most successful one-day bowler.

Honorable Mention:

James Faulkner - The only positive for Australia from this encounter was the performance of the young all-rounder. After bowling well to finish with figures of 2/48, Faulkner put up a brave effort with the bat to get his maiden half century.

There were also some who didn’t live up to the expectations. Here are some of the ordinary performances from the game:

Australia openers – Starting issues

In Michael Clarke‘s absence, openers David Warner and Shane Watson are Australia’s best bet with the bat and with a target of 270, a good start was imperative. But against a disciplined opening attack, the duo, known for their slam bang methods, struggled to get any momentum going. While Warner was out slashing at a wide one from Broad only to edge it to the keeper, Watson scored a 40-ball 24 before falling to Bresnan.

Mitchell Starc – Spraying it around

The left-arm pacer was among the wickets in both the practice games and his team was banking on him for early breakthroughs. But he was way off target today, upsetting Bailey’s plans. He was wayward to start with and had to be taken out of the attack after just two overs. Though he picked up Trott’s wicket, he went for plenty in the slog overs to finish with disappointing figures of 1/75 in his 10 over spell.

(Dis)Honorable mention:

Jos Buttler: After his exploits in the last ODI against New Zealand, there were huge expectations from the youngster when he came out to bat. But the show lasted just two balls as he dragged a Faulkner delivery onto his stumps to be dismissed for just 1. Though he redeemed himself with some excellent glove-work later in the match, England will need him to fire with the bat as well as they go deeper into the tournament.