England made relatively light work of their Champions Trophy opening game against Australia, winning by 48 runs thanks to an impressive half century from Ian Bell and superb bowling from the entire attack.
England recorded 269 for six in their 50 overs, with Bell top-scoring with 91 and Ravi Bopara ensuring a decent score with a much-needed 46 not out at the end. The Aussies then limped to 221 for nine, with James Anderson taking three wickets.
England won the toss and chose to bat first on what seemed to be a good batting track. They started off slowly though, hardly ever going above four to the over as Bell and Alastair Cook put on 57 for the first wicket.
Cook was the first to fall, out for 30 when he edged Shane Watson and was caught behind by Matthew Wade. This brought the solid Jonathan Trott to the middle and he and Bell continued at a steady if frustrating pace.
The pair added 111 runs together, with Trott making 43 of those before being sent packing by Mitchell Starc, also caught behind by Wade. Bell was inching towards his century, but was denied by James Faulkner, who speared the ball into the stumps.
Eoin Morgan, Joe Root and Jos Buttler failed to impress, all out cheaply, which left Bopara and Tim Bresnan to ensure a defendable score. Bopara, under fire for months, made 46 not out, while Bresnan ended on 19.
The Australian batting effort was severely hampered by England’s tight bowling, with Stuart Broad, Anderson and Bresnan all going for less than four to the over. They were ably supported by Root and James Tredwell, ensuring Graeme Swann was not missed.
Only Aussie skipper George Bailey was able to post a decent score, top-scoring with 55 as the rest of the order floundered. The first wicket, that of David Warner, fell with the score on 17, and the recovery never really happened.
Only Faulkner (54 not out), batting at the end, managed to score at a strike rate over 100, with even the likes of Watson going at a slow pace. He was out for 24, one of Bresnan’s two wickets.
Anderson’s wickets served another purpose as he became England’s top ODI wicket taker, snatching the record from Darren Gough (234) by dismissing Mitchell Marsh. His other victims were Matthew Wade and Mitchell Starc.
