Roy puts England on the front foot at last

Rejoice, rejoice! England are off the mark on their tour of Australia, and in no uncertain style as well. Jason Roy's tub-thumping 180 at the MCG on Sunday lifted England to an emphatic five-wicket win in the first of five ODIs, racking up England's highest ODI individual score in the process, as well as the highest run-chase ever achieved at Australia's grandest venue.

It means that England are now ranked as favourites to prevail in the ODI series, though admittedly by a sceptically slender margin - which is understandable seeing as they haven't won an ODI tournament in Australia since 2006-07. England are currently 4/6 to seal the series, compared to Australia's 6/5, which means there's not a lot of value to be found either way.

Australia, however, are backed by the bookies (8/13 to 13/10) to bounce back at the Gabba, their favourite venue for pom-baiting. And the men who are expected to do so are a familiar pairing. Steve Smith and David Warner dominated the batting stakes during the Ashes, and their class is expected to translate across formats.

Roy lurks further down the pecking order, at 17/2, but it's the names in the mid-range odds who perhaps deserve closer scrutiny. Jos Buttler, who's been quiet in ODIs recently but has been finding his range in the BBL, is 16/1, with Eoin Morgan at 18/1 - and either man is capable of a transformative knock.

The bowlers, by and large, aren't favoured to prevail in what is increasingly a batsman's game, but Moeen Ali bowled with control and economy at the MCG and is always capable of a thrilling bit of six-laden acceleration at the tailend of an innings. At 20/1, he's not a bad shout for a flutter - his Ashes woes notwithstanding - given the myriad strings to his bow.