Moeen Ton helps England beat Scotland by 119 runs

England were able to turnaround an abysmal performance against New Zealand just a few days ago and register their first win in the World Cup on Monday. An impressive all-round performance from Moeen Ali meant that the hosts were able to secure a win by 119 runs.

Scotland, who won the toss and elected to field, struggled from the get-go, failing to put any pressure at all on the English opening pair. Ian Bell, who went on to score a patient half-century, and Moeen Ali put up a 172 run first wicket partnership, surpassing England's previous record for biggest World Cup opening partnerships that dates back to the first edition of the tournament in 1975.

Although once Moeen Ali departed, England failed to register 350, a score that seemed inevitable when the centurion was playing shots all around the ground with unprecedented ease. The only other meaningful contributions were that of Eoin Morgan, who played a much-needed innings of 46, and Joe Root who scored 24 from just 14 balls. England were able to scrap to 303 runs amid a lower order collapse, still leaving Scotland with a monumental task ahead.

Steven Finn came into the match under a great deal of pressure, with the two overs he bowled against New Zealand in Wellington being taken apart for 29 runs against a whirlwind McCullum innings. He managed to pick up three cheap wickets, giving away just 26 runs in his nine-over spell. James Anderson and Chris Woakes also picked up two wickets apiece.

It was Moeen Ali who picked up the all-important wicket of Kyle Coetzer, the only Scottish batsman who stood in the way of an aggressive England attack. Moeen Ali had him hole out to long-on when the side's star batsman had scored 71 runs from 84 balls. Only three other Scottish batsmen were able to score double-figures. The middle order failed to show any resistance to a disciplined English attack as the team was all out for 184 in just 42.2 overs.

England plays its next game on 1st March against Sri Lanka at Wellington, while Scotland take on Afghanistan at Hobart on 26th February.