Australia v England, 2013-14
Wisden's review of the first ODI, Australia v England, 2013-14
Vithushan Ehantharajah
15-Apr-2014
At Melbourne, January 12, 2014 (day/night). Australia won by six wickets. Toss: England.
Finch's first one-day international hundred against a Test nation - and the first by a Victorian at Melbourne - bulldozed Australia to a convincing win with more than four overs to spare. Things might have turned out differently had Ballance, who earlier top-scored for England with a fine 79, his maiden international fifty, caught Finch at mid-off on eight off Jordan. But it was a day when little went right for the tourists. Warner had been happy to walk on 22 after edging Stokes into the gloves of Buttler, diving forward, only for the umpires to intervene, with TV official Dharmasena somehow ruling that the ball had bounced first; Cook described the decision as "wrong". Later Clarke edged the luckless Jordan between keeper and slip. England had made what looked to be an above-par score on a slow track, with Bell and Morgan, who reached his half-century in 46 balls, keeping Ballance company, and Buttler providing a late burst. But Finch and Warner rode their luck against an inexperienced attack to put on 163 inside 28 overs, a one-day record for Australia's first wicket against England, beating the unbroken 118 of Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist at Sydney in 2002-03.
Man of the Match: A. J. Finch. Attendance: 38,068.
Finch's first one-day international hundred against a Test nation - and the first by a Victorian at Melbourne - bulldozed Australia to a convincing win with more than four overs to spare. Things might have turned out differently had Ballance, who earlier top-scored for England with a fine 79, his maiden international fifty, caught Finch at mid-off on eight off Jordan. But it was a day when little went right for the tourists. Warner had been happy to walk on 22 after edging Stokes into the gloves of Buttler, diving forward, only for the umpires to intervene, with TV official Dharmasena somehow ruling that the ball had bounced first; Cook described the decision as "wrong". Later Clarke edged the luckless Jordan between keeper and slip. England had made what looked to be an above-par score on a slow track, with Bell and Morgan, who reached his half-century in 46 balls, keeping Ballance company, and Buttler providing a late burst. But Finch and Warner rode their luck against an inexperienced attack to put on 163 inside 28 overs, a one-day record for Australia's first wicket against England, beating the unbroken 118 of Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist at Sydney in 2002-03.
Man of the Match: A. J. Finch. Attendance: 38,068.