Australia’s newly appointed ODI captain Pat Cummins applauded middle-order batter Steve Smith for seeing the side through against England in the first match of the three-match ODI series here at Adelaide Oval on Thursday.
Hinting that Smith’s good performance would boost his confidence and would be crucial for the upcoming test matches, the bowler said that it was a pleasure seeing the former captain perform with the bat.
“We’ve got plenty of Test cricket coming up, to see Smith play like this was really pleasing. He’s been putting in a lot of effort in the nets. Pretty pleased with my bowling performance as well,” said Cummins.
The Aussie speedster also heaped praises on his team and labelled the win a complete team performance.
“Fantastic performance, a real team effort. Everyone came here fresh. Ashton Agar came in after a few days, nice to see everyone step up,” he said.
In the match, the first of the three-match ODI series, Australia won the toss and elected to field first.
It was a fine effort from the Australian bowlers, as they ran through the England top-order, reducing them to 118/5. But Dawid Malan mounted a brilliant fightback and scored a brilliant 134 of only 128 deliveries, as England posted a score of 287/9 in their 50 overs.
He was given a helping hand by David Willey, who ended on an unbeaten 34.
Chasing a target of 288, David Warner and Travis Head put Australia in the front seat as they stitched a 147-run stand for the opening wicket.
But the fiery stand was broken by Chris Jordan who dismissed Head. The Australia opener went back to the pavilion after scoring a 69 of 57 deliveries.
Steven Smith then came out to bat and the batter slammed England bowlers all around the ground while forming a partnership with Warner. The pair put up a score of 200 runs within 29 overs.
However, Warner’s stint on the crease was cut short as he was dismissed by David Willey after scoring 86 runs in 84 balls. Warner’s wicket led to Marnus Labuschagne coming to the ground but the batter could not do much as he was sent back to the pavilion after scoring four runs by Willey in the 31st over of the match.
Alex Carey also departed after playing a small knock of 21 of 28 by Liam Dawson. Smith then held the fort and guided his team home by 6-wickets while slamming a stunning unbeaten 80 runs in 78 balls. (ANI)
This report is filed by ANI news service. TheNewsMill holds no responsibility for this content.
