England suffered a heavy defeat to rivals Australia in the first T20I after Travis Head hit a brilliant half-century at the Utilita Bowl in Southampton.
Australia’s opener Head (51) launched a lethal assault on the hosts with a scintillating 19-ball fifty after being inserted to bat. He shared the crease with Matt Short (41) and shared an 86-run opening stand before the tourists collapsed to 179 all out.
England spinner Liam Livingstone (3-22) and fast bowler Jofra Archer (2-31) both took two wickets in the same number of balls to initiate a brilliant fightback which saw the Aussies lose their final seven wickets for 47 runs.
England’s innings began in dramatic fashion after captain Phil Salt (20) was caught off a no-ball but the hosts managed to stumble to 46-3 by the end of the powerplay with debutant Jordan Cox contributing 17.
A partnership between from Liam Livingstone (37) and Sam Curran (18) worth 54 runs helped breathe life into England’s innings before the pair were removed by Josh Hazlewood (2-32) and Sean Abbott (3-28) respectively.
England required a near-impossible 35 runs from the final over, and Australia completed a dominant 28-run victory as Abbott splayed Saqib Mahmood’s stumps.
Australia go 1-0 up in the three-match T20I series which continues in Cardiff at Sophia Gardens on Friday September 13, live on Sky Sports.
More to follow…
Watch England vs Australia live on Sky Sports Cricket this September as the sides meet in three T20 internationals and five one-day internationals.
The second T20I is at Sophia Gardens on Friday September 13 with coverage from 6pm ahead of the first ball at 6.30pm.