Last Updated on 7 years by Charbel Coorey
England confirmed their status as one of the finest limited overs teams in the world, cantering to a 5-wicket win over Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Jason Roy was simply brilliant, smashing a strong Australia attack all around the ground on his way to a brilliant 180. In the process, he and England broke records, and here are my five facts from their excellent performance in the first ODI:
Highest individual ODI score for England
Jason Roy came out all guns blazing, taking apart Mitchell Starc and Patrick Cummins, two of England’s nemeses in the Ashes series. He made the start count, and scored an incredible 180, filled with amazing strokeplay. He went past Alex Hales’ 171 against Pakistan in 2016, and put England 1-0 up in the series.
Highest individual score at the MCG:
Jason Roy also achieved the highest ever individual score at the MCG, going past Mark Waugh’s 173 against the West Indies all the way back in 2001. The previous highest score by a non-Australian at the MCG was by Tilakaratne Dilshan in the 2015 World Cup, where he made 161* v Bangladesh. To find the previous highest score v Australia at the MCG, you have to go back all the way to 1979, where the great Viv Richards scored 153*.
Highest ever successful run-chase at the MCG:
Not only did Jason Roy achieve the highest score for an England batsman in an ODI, as well as at the MCG, but he also masterminded the highest successful run chase at the MCG.
The MCG is known for its difficulty when it comes to run chases, due to its sheer size, but it wasn’t a problem for England, with Jason Roy and Joe Root leading England to a fine win.
England have now won 4 of their last 5 ODIs against Australia
Australia have the wood over England in Test cricket, but England’s transformation in ODI cricket since 2015 has also seen them do well against Australia in the limited overs.
In the ODI series following the Ashes in 2015, Australia won 3-2, but in the last 5 ODIs, including that series in 2015, as well as the Champions Trophy in 2017, England are on a good run vs Australia, winning four of the last five.
England’s first win at the MCG since 2007
England picked up their first win at the MCG since 2007, where they beat Australia by four wickets after a disastrous Ashes campaign.
They look a far stronger limited overs side now, though, and will be very tough to beat for the remainder of the series, as well as in the 2019 World Cup, provided their preparations go to plan.
Other posts from CricBlog you might like: