Australia v England, 2013-14
Wisden's review of the first T20 International, Australia v England, 2013-14
15-Apr-2014
At Hobart, January 29, 2014 (floodlit). Australia won by 13 runs. Toss: Australia. Twenty20 international debuts: C. A. Lynn, J. M. Muirhead.
Australia claimed a win that would have been more emphatic had it not been for the late hitting of Bopara, who smashed a 27-ball 65. With one square boundary barely more than 50 metres away, White - recalled by Australia after good form in the Big Bash and Ryobi Cup, and badly dropped by Root at slip on 11 - and Finch opened with 106 inside 11 overs. Three sixes from the debutant Chris Lynn then helped Australia to 213, their second-highest total in the format at home. Broad bowled with control but, Bopara aside, no one else went for less than ten an over. Australia's bowlers proved expensive too, but took important wickets at crucial moments to stall England's charge; Coulter-Nile was the pick, with four. James Muirhead, a 20-year-old leg-spinner from Victoria with only two first class matches under his belt, claimed a maiden international victim in Bresnan, before Bopara's fireworks closed the game with a futile flourish. His seven sixes were a Twenty20 record for England, beating Wright's six against Afghanistan in Colombo in September 2012.
Man of the Match: C. L. White. Attendance: 10,939.
Australia claimed a win that would have been more emphatic had it not been for the late hitting of Bopara, who smashed a 27-ball 65. With one square boundary barely more than 50 metres away, White - recalled by Australia after good form in the Big Bash and Ryobi Cup, and badly dropped by Root at slip on 11 - and Finch opened with 106 inside 11 overs. Three sixes from the debutant Chris Lynn then helped Australia to 213, their second-highest total in the format at home. Broad bowled with control but, Bopara aside, no one else went for less than ten an over. Australia's bowlers proved expensive too, but took important wickets at crucial moments to stall England's charge; Coulter-Nile was the pick, with four. James Muirhead, a 20-year-old leg-spinner from Victoria with only two first class matches under his belt, claimed a maiden international victim in Bresnan, before Bopara's fireworks closed the game with a futile flourish. His seven sixes were a Twenty20 record for England, beating Wright's six against Afghanistan in Colombo in September 2012.
Man of the Match: C. L. White. Attendance: 10,939.