RESULT
Tour Match, Canberra, February 02, 2018, England tour of Australia and New Zealand
(12.4/20 ov, T:137) 139/2

England XI won by 8 wickets (with 44 balls remaining)

Report

Willey stars with bat and ball as England stroll to victory

David Willey stated his case to bat higher up the order in England's T20 side by hammering 79 from 36 balls - which included taking 34 runs off an over from Nathan Lyon - as the tourists cruised home

David Willey hammered 79 from 36 balls  •  Getty Images

David Willey hammered 79 from 36 balls  •  Getty Images

England 139 for 2 (Willey 79) beat Prime Minister's XI 136 for 8 (Handscomb 43, Dawson 3-16, Willey 3-32) by eight wickets
Scorecard
David Willey stated his case to bat higher up the order in England's T20 side by hammering 79 from 36 balls - which included taking 34 runs off an over from Nathan Lyon - as the tourists cruised home in their tri-series warm-up match in Canberra.
Having taken three wickets with the ball, Willey opened the batting in the absence of Jason Roy and Alex Hales. From the final over of the Powerplay, he took on Lyon - one of England's chief tormentors during the Ashes - and struck the first five deliveries for six before narrowly missing out on completing the full set.
"Yeah, I probably was disappointed," Willey said of missing out on six in row, "especially in an England shirt. I can barely get it off the square usually. It would have been nicer to get the final one too but if you're hitting 34 off an over you can't complain.
"I got a chance at the top of the order with a couple of niggles and I had nothing to lose. I went out with a bit of a free rein and managed to clear the ropes a few times. No complaints."
A regular opener in white-ball cricket at county level, as well as with Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League, Willey has had limited opportunities with the bat for England. He has never come in higher than No. 7 in 28 international innings, with top scores of 26 in ODIs and 21 in T20.
"I think I'll be sliding back down to nine or 10 for the first game [of the tri-series], that was my one chance,'' he said. "I don't think I can walk in there and say I should be batting higher up the order. I do that job back home and my job with England is different."
Willey and James Vince put on 87 for the first wicket and England were only 10 runs from victory when Willey became Mitchell Swepson's second wicket, as a target of 137 was quickly chased down
The Prime Minister's XI, which tallied 239 caps among the players selected, had been restricted during their 20 overs, with Peter Handscomb the only batsman to cut loose during an innings of 43 from 29. Willey removed both openers, Peter Nevill and Nic Maddinson, in his second over, before Liam Dawson chipped in with three middle-order wickets during a parsimonious spell.
England included both Tom and Sam Curran in an XI for the first time, the brothers delivering a combined five overs for 38. Roy was left out after experiencing a stiff back, while England were already without Hales (hand injury), Liam Plunkett and Chris Jordan (both hamstring), ahead of their tri-series opener in Hobart on Wednesday.

AskESPNcricinfo Logo
Instant answers to T20 questions
England XI Innings
<1 / 3>