Sam Curran drew first blood Down Under by removing Australia's biggest obstruction to an England win in the final over of their first T20.
Curran had 16 to defend against a clean striking Matthew Wade and managed to concede just four before the Aussie holed out to Ben Stokes in the deep on the way to an eight run win. It meant any controversy over Wade's obstruction of Mark Wood's attempt to take a caught and bowled earlier by sticking out his arm and getting in his way was negated.
England skipper Jos Buttler decided not to pursue an appeal at the time, although had it been a World Cup semi-final rather than a warm up he might not have been so generous. Buttler had a great game, using his bowlers to good effect after he had been brilliant with the bat as part of a 208 run total.
The skipper had been starved of game time throughout the seven match tour of Pakistan to protect his recovery from a calf injury, but he was free to roam the plains of the Perth stadium and he feasted like a famished lion.
From the first over he tore into Cameron Green with four sweetly timed boundaries through the off side and he didn’t stop until he eventually miscued Nathan Ellis to mid-off for his 68 from just 32 balls.
Ellis was outstanding by the way, as 3-20 might suggest when your team has conceded more than 200. England failed to hit a boundary in only two out of 20 overs, both from him.
Before Buttler departed, he and Hales had put on a T20 batting masterclass to smash 132 from just 68 balls for the first wicket. It was the first time ever that the pair had opened the batting in a T20 international and it set a gloriously high bar for the World Cup to come.
Hales admitted to feeling nervous before the game knowing that his World Cup hopes could be seriously impacted by his upcoming performances. On that score things could not have gone any better for the 33-year-old who started a little scratchily next to Buttler's free-flowing opening salvo, but who soon got into the groove.
He had only shown a glimpse of the undoubted talent he has in Pakistan recently, but his proven quality in Australia, both for England in the past and in the Big Bash means that expectations are high for him over the next month. And he delivered on that promise with the fourth highest score of his career so far, sprinkled with 12 fours and three sixes of various quality.
"It was amazing to see Jos back," said Hales. "He has been out of action for a couple of months so for him to come back and make batting look as easy as that was really good to watch from the other end.
"He is the best white-ball player in the world, in my opinion, so to get the chance to open with him for my country is a great feeling. I was definitely nervous before the game today, but I’m pleased I managed to get off to a good start."
Perhaps Hales was also a little nervous about playing alongside Ben Stokes for the first time in over three years after his reselection in Pakistan. The pair combined for a useful 33 together, despite Stokes struggling to find any rhythm as one might expect from a man who had a decent break after the English summer.
And they were all smiles and high fives in the field each time Hales took a catch, especially the one to remove Warner.
