After weeks of Twenty20 cricket, it suddenly seemed like everyone had time to breathe. With the luxury of space in the form of a 50-over, Dawid Malan put together one of his best innings to take England back to 287 for nine, before David Warner’s typical reply got Australia off to a successful start, allowing them to slide down to 291 for four in. 47 envelopes Kicking off a three-match one-day international series, the home team left Adelaide Oval leading 1-0.
The displeasure of England players with this series coming so soon after the T20 World Cup has been well documented and was reflected in the one-day squad that took to the field. Of these finalists, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Adil Rashid and Chris Woakes were rested. The only ones to play were Malan, who missed the final, captain Jos Buttler and late-tournament injury replacements Chris Jordan and Phil Salt. The other seven positions in the side were occupied by newcomers.
However, it was a timid performance from England against the Australian fast bowling who immediately found their rhythm. Winning the toss and electing to go into his work, Australian captain Pat Cummins hit a long-on and moved the ball from the top of the innings, while Mitchell Starc bowled a fuller and found the swing Cummins’ intelligence to persist at two slips paid off in the fourth over when Salt pushed hard on the line and edged the ball away to Steve Smith at wider position.
Similarly, James Vince bowled Cummins to wicketkeeper in the eighth over, after Jason Roy had fallen over his front leg to miss a Starc missile that was launched onto the right-hander’s stumps. Sam Billings helped add 33 before losing his own stumps to a Marcus Stoinis cutter. Then the biggest wicket fell, Buttler on 29 tried to attack Adam Zampa’s leg break but found his hands at long off instead of the open pastures of deep cover.
At 118 for five, Malan had bided his time quietly staying at the other end. This was not 20-year-old cricket, where heart rates and blood pressure rise for both spectators and players after two dot balls. Here Malan could block four or five in a row, he could leave a dangerous line outside the off stump, he could let a few overs go by for a handful of runs and he could know he still had time to get back on the ground. He also knew that if he fell, England had few options left.
So the innings was built: adding 40 runs with Liam Dawson before a run, 41 before Zampa caught Chris Jordan, then 60 with David Willey during which Malan reached his century. His own score reached 134, his clean six, including a drive and a pick-up from Cummins and a sweep of Australia’s two spinners. He was patient when needed, aggressive when he could, took England deep in the last 10 overs and made sure they could use every delivery available. It was everything that shorter forms do not allow.
David Warner on his way to a blistering 86 off 84 balls in Adelaide. Photo: Matt Turner/EPA
In the end, though, it wasn’t close enough. In January 2017 at Adelaide Oval, David Warner and Travis Head almost broke the record for the highest one-day opening partnership, putting on 284 against Pakistan. Reunited this time, they put on 147. The match ended in 20 overs, and Warner also seemed to be freed by extra time. He had a run from 10 balls before his first boundary, and was selective with the deliveries he wanted to attack in the pull or drive. A six from Willey was the highlight, with Warner ahead of a run ball when he was caught pulling for 86.
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Head had then fallen for an intense 69, but Australia were 200 for two, allowing Smith to take his time to compile 80 not without little risk or error. Marnus Labuschagne and Alex Carey were dismissed along the way, but Cameron Green’s 20 didn’t finish the job. There was little to celebrate for England’s bowlers, but Olly Stone getting through 10 economical overs without injury problems was encouraging after waiting four years since his last appearance in the format. For Australia, Zampa and Cummins each took three wickets, but the highlight of the day was Ashton Agar, after sitting on the bench for the last T20 engagements.
Agar produced Dawson’s brilliant direct hit, almost took an aerial catch as Malan smashed Starc, took the off-field catches that Buttler and Malan dismissed, produced another gravity-defying feat when he mouse over the boundary line to slide the ball back and turn a Malan six into a run, and bowled the 48th and 50th overs as a left-arm spinner at just one run a ball. With this series seen as a build-up to next year’s 50-over World Cup, Agar has seized his first opportunity to stake a claim. Some players may not want these matches, but others do.