It's taken some time but the English have finally had a win on Australian soil after beating the Cricket Australia XI at Drummoyne Oval in Sydney, thanks mainly to out of sorts spinner Moeen Ali and a dominant knock by the visitor's one-day captain Eoin Morgan.
Ali found better flight and control
Sent into the field by Cricket Australia XI captain Matt Renshaw, the visitors kept the hosts under wraps for most of the 50 overs, highlighted emphatically by the performance of the side's struggling off-spinner Ali. Under pressure for most of the Australian summer, Ali found better flight and control with his off-breaks as he finished up with very serviceable figures (10-0-28-2).
Adil Rashid also impressed with figures of (10-0-45-3) from his allotted overs.
Apart from the spinners, the English seamers continued to struggle in the warm-up fixture. Chris Woakes (8-0-46-0), Mark Wood (10-0-68-0) and Tom Curran (3-0-18-0) provided some respite to the young Australian representative team. The exception to the fast bowling attack was, however, Liam Plunkett, who took two very important wickets - including the captain Renshaw (9-1-52-2).
Set 259 for victory, the English team started very nicely thanks to a 74 run opening stand between Jason Roy (40) and wicket-keeper batsman Johnny Bairstow (36). The departure of both openers in a short space of time meant that Eoin Morgan joined Alex Hales at the crease, and the pair combined well to put on 66 for the fourth wicket.
Hales (52) was back to his pristine best with the bat as he hit 7 boundaries in a quickfire half-century off just 35 balls. Not to be outdone, Morgan showcased once again just how good a cricketer he is in the limited overs format, seeing England home with an impressive 81 off just 76 deliveries. It was a performance that rightly deserved and received man of the match honours.
Nice finishing cameos
In the end, it took England just 40.5 overs to reach the victory target for the loss of just five wickets. Nice finishing cameos by Jos Buttler (28) and Sam Billings (15*) supported Morgan and the English side to a successful day in Sydney. Unfortunately for the visitors, Moeen Ali's troubles with the bat continued, as the supposed bowling all-rounder remains vulnerable with the bat in Australia after he was dismissed very cheaply late in the days play for just one run.
The victory is England's first win since they beat the CA XI in November in a tour match leading into the first Ashes Test in Brisbane. That was 61 days ago. The English will now play Australia in a 5-match One Day International Series starting in Melbourne on Sunday.
FINAL SCORE:
CRICKET AUSTRALIA XI (258-9 off 50 Overs)
ENGLAND (259-5 off 40.5 Overs)
