Australia thrash England by seven wickets: first men’s cricket one-day international – as it happened
Before we wrap up, here’s our report on Australia’s resounding win,Yeah I thought it was a great win, especially after the start England got and then going a man down,I’d love to take credit for [bowling Labuschagne] but it was a forced change,We thought pace off was a better option, it was a bit of a gut feel in the group, and the way our part-timers bowled was fantastic,We did everything we said we were gonna do: we tried to put pressure on their bowlers and then we tried to take wickets.
It wasn’t our day today.We were eyeing a big score for sure.It held in the pitch a bit but we didn’t rotate strike as much we probably could’ve done and we got a below-par score.A few of us played well so hopefully we can take that forward to the next game.I got two-for as well! Nah, batting’s never easy.
I got lucky at the start of the innings, when [Jofra Archer] bowled a helluva spell.But I knew if I could get through that there were runs out there on a beautiful wicket.I thought we did really well to keep them to 315.That start was tough; Jof had it going round corners.But we got through that and it just flowed on from there.
We had some really great partnerships.[On the reason for his form over the last three years] Yeah, the environment and having a blueprint and a clear role.I’m a bit more relaxed now and I play the game for what it is.“I said earlier that at one stage England looked on course for 400,” says Simon McMahon.“Even had they reached it, you get the feeling Head would have chased the runs down almost by himself, he’s that good.
”There has never been an ODI opener like him, not even Virender Sehwag.His strike rate of 116 is easily the highest of anybody who has scored at least 1000 ODI runs at the top of the order.This is the list:116 Travis Head106 Jonny Bairstow, Jason Roy105 Virender Sehwag103 Brendon McCullum102 Jesse RyderAustralia were far too good for a young England side who left a few runs out there with the bat.Mind you, no target is safe when Travis Head is in the mood.He produced another dirty masterpiece, hitting 154 not out from 129 balls with 20 fours and five sixes.
Marnus Labuschagne supported him with a quietly brilliant 77 not out, which included 57 from the last 32 balls,Their partnership of 140 was almost flawless,And they shared five wickets earlier in the day,44th over: Australia 317-3 (Head 154, Labuschagne 77) Labuschagne has the honour of hitting the winning runs, cutting Will Jacks for four,The world champions have put England across their knee.
Australia have defeated England by seven wickets 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/rNfbltVD0X43rd over: Australia 310-3 (Head 152, Labuschagne 72) Bong! Head dances down to hit Livingstone for six to bring up a joyous and brilliant 150.What a player! When he was recalled for the 2021-22 Ashes he was about to turn 28 and his career was going nowhere.He was, in the parlance of our time, just another one from the bottle.
Now he is the most destructive all-format batsman in the world, and arguably the best.Labuschagne does further damage to Livingstone’s figures (9-0-75-1) with a hard sweep for four.Australia have scored 106 in the last 11 overs.42nd over: Australia 295-3 (Head 144, Labuschagne 65) Labuschagne skids back to cut one last boundary off Rashid, who ends a chastening evening with figures of 10-0-59-0.Superb batting.
41st over: Australia 289-3 (Head 143, Labuschagne 60) Labuschagne pulls out in his deelivery stride and says something to Labuschagne, who belts the actual delivery for four and gives plenty back.Not sure what that was about.There are four byes later in the over when a leg break from Livingstone beats everything and everyone.For 80 overs this felt like a close game; it has turned into a right hammering.In fact Australia have scored 89 off the last 9 overs.
Crikey.40th over: Australia 276-3 (Head 142, Labuschagne 52) Remember when Australia lost their first two games of last year’s World Cup and everyone overindulged on schadenfreude? This will be the 13th consecutive win since then.Head hits his fourth six, carting Rashid miles over mid-on.In some ways this innings is reminiscent of Zak Crawley’s Ashes masterpiece: very scratchy for the first 40 or so runs, frighteningly good thereafter.In both innings there was no inbetween bit, no 10- or 20-run period where you thought they were starting to hit form.
He does have one moment of fortune when a big leading edge somehow lands safely on the off side,Frankly, he’s earned it,39th over: Australia 266-3 (Head 134, Labuschagne 50) Lanuschagne scrunches Livingstone for a single to reach an accomplished 42-ball half-century, the perfect supporting role,He hit 20 from 29 balls then 30 from the next 13,And why not?38th over: Australia 263-3 (Head 132, Labuschagne 49) England are a beaten team, their will broken by a moustachioed, easy-going phenom called Travis Michael Head.
Labuschagne sweeps Rashid for four more – he’s hit 29 off his last 11 balls – before Head drags a slightly disgusting hoick behind square for another boundary,Australia need 53 from 72 balls,37th over: Australia 251-3 (Head 126, Labuschagne 43) Oh yes, Labuschagne is into his work now,He carts the new bowler Livingstone down the ground for two sixes down in three balls, then sweeps fine for four,An expert at work.
“I think you’re right about Travis Head, but he is an unusual great in that he doesn’t really have a signature shot or typical innings,” says Gary Naylor.“I suspect it’s because he does everything so well that nothing stands out.”Isn’t his typical innings – and I say this with nothing but love – causing utter mayhem? I agree about the signature shot.I suspect there are a few reasons we’ve been slow to recognise his greatness.He’s not particularly elegant, he was no more than a good international player till the age of 28 and, perhaps most significantly, he doesn’t look or strut like a superstar.
I was going to call him the beast next door, such is the savagery of his hitting, but that makes him sound like a serial killer so let’s move on.36th over: Australia 233-3 (Head 125, Labuschagne 26) Travis Head could break another record today.The highest score in a successful runchase in England is Jason Roy’s 162 against Sri Lanka eight years ago; the highest against England in England is Sanath Jayasuriya’s riotous 152 at Headingley in 2006.Check out these bowling figures!Labuschagne opens the face to steer Carse past the keeper for four, his first boundary from his 30th delivery.Australia seem to be strolling to victory; they need 83 from 84 balls.
35th over: Australia 225-3 (Head 124, Labuschagne 19) Australia keep things ticking over with five from Jacks’ over.It makes sense that Head and Labuschagne would bat well together and the numbers reflect that: their average partnership is 64 in Tests and 154 in ODIs.34th over: Australia 220-3 (Head 123, Labuschagne 16) Brydon Carse replaces his Durham buddy Matt Potts.Extra pace can be a blessing and a curse; on this occasion it’s emphatically the latter.Head times a low full toss through midwicket for four, then slugs a short ball just over the leaping Brook at mid-on.
After a solitary dot ball, Head cuts Carse to the cover boundary and drags a pull through square leg.Four fours in five balls, all hit in an arc from cover to square leg.This is just sensational batting from a true modern great.He is.We can’t call this a purple patch – it’s been going on three years.
33rd over: Australia 203-3 (Head 107, Labuschagne 15) Harry Brook holds on to Rashid’s last three overs, replacing him with Will Jacks,The ball is still turning and stopping occasionally, so it probably won’t be easy for a new batsman to start,Three from the over, including a muffed reverse sweep froim Labuschagne that goes for a single,Australia need 113 from 102 balls,32nd over: Australia 200-3 (Head 106, Labuschagne 12) A quiet over from Potts, four from it.
Labuschagne is a perfect foil for Head, just as he was in last year’s World Cup final.He’s the forgotten man of that triumph, in which he made 58 not out from 110 balls.Tonight he has 12 from 19 balls and the best seat in house.31st over: Australia 196-3 (Head 105, Labuschagne 9) England know that the game changes if they dismiss Head, especially as they are still ahead on the comparison.Head backs away to flat bat Rashid through extra cover, and this time even the sprawling Bethell can’t save the boundary.
Phenomenal batting.30th over: Australia 190-3 (Head 100, Labuschagne 8) Potts replaces Archer, whose figures of 6-0-53-0 are pretty harsh.Although he’s bowled more loose stuff than usual, with a bit more luck he could have a couple of wickets.Head flicks Potts for two to move to 99; it would have been four but for a fine stop from Brook.No matter.
Head belts a slow full toss for a single to reach another sizzling century: 92 balls, 14 fours, three sixes.He pops his helmet on his bat handle and raises it to the crowd in celebration.It’s been an innings of two halves.He rode his luck to reach 41 from 47 deliveries, then played with increasing authority to hit the next 59 from 45.29th over: Australia 184-3 (Head 97, Labuschagne 6) Labuschagne pulls Rashid fiercely towards cow corner, where Bethell saves three runs with a brilliant diving stop.
He’s made three of those now, saving eight runs in the process.Labuschagne is not out! It’s umpire’s call on height rather than line, so England do at least keep their review.England review for LBW against Labuschagne! Rashid replaces Bethell, an aggressive move with Head so close to his century.A lovely delivery skids on to hit Labuschagne on the pad; it’s given not out but Harry Brook, a little reluctantly, takes matters upstairs.It’s very close, I’d say umpire’s call or out.
28th over: Australia 181-3 (Head 96, Labuschagne 4) Head makes room to glide Archer for another boundary, which takes him within one hit of a century,He’s not living dangerously any more,I know I’m obsessed with Travis Head but how can you not be? When he was dropped from the ODI team in 2018, apparently for good, he averaged 34 with a strike rate of 90,He returned four years later, and since then he averages 61 and has a strike rate of 121,This is not remotely normal behaviour.
27th over: Australia 173-3 (Head 90, Labuschagne 2) Marnus Labuschagne is the new batsman,That little assault before Green’s dismissal means he has a bit of time to get his eye in; the required rate is around 6,2 per over,And Travis Head is batting,Jacob Bethwell takes his first wicket in international cricket! It’s a triumph for him and also for Harry Brook, who could easily have hooked Bethell after two slightly nervous overs.
He didn’t and was rewarded with a key wicket.Bethell, darting it in from around the wicket, skidded one straight through Green to hit the stumps; Ravindra Jadeja would have been happy with that dismissal.26th over: Australia 169-2 (Head 88, Green 32) Archer returns in place of Livingstone, who bowled a mixed spell of 5-0-30-1.His loosener (sic) zips past Head’s flashing blade.That’s as good as it gets for England in that over
Farage claims he received official advice not to hold constituency surgeries
Nigel Farage has said he received official parliamentary advice against holding in-person surgeries for his constituents – though his claim was immediately called into question by insiders.On Thursday the Reform UK leader, who became the MP for Clacton in Essex in July, said he had been advised not to hold the physical weekly meetings that are a staple for most MPs, citing fears the public would “flow through the door with knives in their pockets”.He recalled the murder of the Conservative MP David Amess at a surgery in Essex three years ago.Farage said he had been given guidance by “the [Commons] speaker’s office, and beneath the speaker’s office there is a security team who give advice and say you should do some things and not do others”.However, a source told the Guardian this was not advice that the office of the speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, or the security team would give to any MP as it would interfere with their democratic duties
European court rejects Paterson appeal over report into improper lobbying
The European court of human rights has dismissed an appeal by the former MP Owen Paterson against the parliamentary report that preceded his political downfall.Paterson, a former environment secretary and influential pro-Brexit Conservative, resigned as an MP in 2021 after an investigation by the parliamentary commissioner for standards established that he had repeatedly engaged in improper lobbying.The investigation began in 2019 after the Guardian reported that Paterson had lobbied ministers and officials, asking them to take steps that would benefit two companies that were paying him to be their consultant.Two years later the commissioner, Kathryn Stone, found that Paterson had made 14 approaches to ministers and officials. A committee of MPs recommended he be suspended from the House of Commons for 30 days over the “egregious” breach of lobbying rules
With a lust for freebies and hobbled by infighting, Labour look like the Tories 2.0 | John Crace
During the last election campaign it was hard to escape the impression that, whatever his other faults, Rishi Sunak just wasn’t very good at politics. The charge sheet included getting drenched announcing the election and leaving D-day veterans on the beaches. And insisting that black was white: that he was stopping the boats, that the economy was in good shape, that the Tories were on course for victory.Just a couple of months later, it very much feels like Keir Starmer and Labour are saying: “Hold my beer.” Keen to prove that they, too, are amateurs at the political PR game
Starmer’s free tickets for Arsenal and Taylor Swift part of job, says minister
Keir Starmer’s attendance at Arsenal football matches and Taylor Swift concerts is “part of the job”, the business secretary has said.Jonathan Reynolds described the occasions for which Starmer had accepted tickets, including a Coldplay gig and football matches, as “major cultural, sporting events”.The minister said he had “no problem” with politicians accepting gifts that can be of “a more personal nature” and noted hard-working politicians were entitled to “a bit of relaxation”.Starmer has accepted almost 40 sets of free tickets during his time as Labour leader, mostly to football matches but also £4,000 of hospitality at a Taylor Swift concert and £698-worth of Coldplay tickets in Manchester.He has also come under fire for the number of gifts accepted from Waheed Alli, who paid for work clothing worth £12,000, accommodation valued at more than £20,000 and glasses valued at £2,485
Labour will lean into hope at first conference in power for 15 years
When Ellie Reeves opens Labour conference, she will be the first Labour minister to do so since Harriet Harman walked off the stage in Brighton 15 years ago. For the 20,000 Labour supporters flocking to Liverpool this year, it is in many ways the first chance at a victory party.In No 10, there is a dilemma about how much ministers can use that sense of celebration – with a story to drive home about the dire state of Labour’s inheritance and amid a background of weeks of turmoil over winter fuel allowance, donations and the prime minister’s chief of staff.But those close to Keir Starmer say he will use this moment to lean into a sense of hope about what a Labour government can do – and to spell out the tangible change that he expects to deliver in the country over the next five years.The message will be how effective and serious government can be a “reckoning for populism”
Rachel Reeves to replace No 11 paintings with art of or by women
Rachel Reeves has announced plans to replace every painting in the lavish state room at No 11 Downing Street with artworks of or by women.Speaking at a reception for female business leaders on Wednesday evening, the chancellor said she wanted to mark the lives of the “amazing women who have gone before us”.Addressing the all-female gathering, she said: “This is King James behind me, but next week the artwork in this room is going to change.“Every picture in this room is either going to be of a woman or by a woman – and we’re also going to have a statue in this room of Millicent Fawcett, who did so much for the rights of women.”King James II, who is posing in a suit of armour, with a lustrous head of shoulder-length hair, is likely to be relegated to a storage room
Georgina Hayden’s recipe for charred corn, chorizo and avocado
Rukmini Iyer’s quick and easy hot smoked salmon frittatas with watercress and radishes – recipe | Quick and easy
‘We called her the vegetable whisperer’: Rachel Roddy on the cook who inspired her
Scissor-cut, stir-fry and ‘a hug in a bowl’: six great noodle recipes
Jeremy King: ‘The first time I was ever impressed by anyone was Meryl Streep’
Rahel Stephanie’s secret ingredient: pandan