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England’s white-ball refresh got off to a false start as Travis Head’s buccaneering half-century helped Australia to a 28-run victory in the first T20.
Seeking to draw a line under an uninspiring T20 World Cup, England were playing catch up after 59 off 23 balls from Head, who whacked Sam Curran for 30 in an over and thumped 12 boundaries in total.
Liam Livingstone took three wickets after Adil Rashid had applied the brakes, conceding one boundary in his 4-0-23-1, with the quicks then finding their lines and lengths as Australia stumbled from 86 for one at the end of the powerplay to 179 all out in 19.3 overs.
After the hosts slumped to 52 for four in the chase, Livingstone briefly sparkled with the bat but his departure for 37 off 27 balls ended any hope of England drawing first blood in this three-match series.
They were eventually skittled for 151 with four balls unused and, on this evidence, Brendon McCullum taking the reins in the new year to unify the coaching roles cannot come quickly enough.
Australia, without the retired David Warner and several of their rested multi-format stars, proved too strong for an England side with three debutants in Jordan Cox, Jacob Bethell and Jamie Overton.
None of the trio made much of an impact at the Utilita Bowl, where more than 1,000 solar panels were turned on for the first time in Hampshire’s bid to become the world’s greenest cricket stadium.
It was Head who provided the power, though, after Matthew Short had flicked Reece Topley off his pads for back-to-back sixes.
Head got off the mark with a leading edge through a vacant backward point and was beaten three times in an over by Archer, albeit the world’s top-ranked batter dispatched the other three deliveries for four.
After overturning being given out caught behind on 15, Head went full throttle, flaying each delivery in Curran’s wayward first over to the boundary, with three sixes including a sumptuous carve over deep point.
Saqib Mahmood also went the distance as Head brought up a 19-ball fifty before one swing too many caught the top-edge. Australia were still in the ascendancy, though, as England turned to their trump card in Rashid, who stymied the scoring as he so often does and knocked back Mitch Marsh’s off-stump to boot.
Unwilling to be too adventurous against the world’s top-ranked T20 bowler, Short perished for 41 trying to take on Livingstone, who had Marcus Stoinis and Tim David lbw on the sweep off consecutive balls. Both were pinned on the front pad and given not out but England’s reviews were successful.
While Livingstone still had one over to bowl, stand-in captain Phil Salt was justified in returning to pace despite their earlier shellacking as Curran rebounded from his battering by Head to castle Josh Inglis, who missed an injudicious reverse scoop attempting to up the ante to depart for 37.
The wheels fell off for Australia thereafter as Archer’s pinpoint yorkers cleaned up Sean Abbott and Xavier Bartlett, while Mahmood did likewise for Cameron Green for a team hat-trick.
Salt was caught off a no-ball at the outset of England’s reply but Will Jacks was not so lucky, snared by the metronomic Josh Hazlewood, passed fit after missing Australia’s recent 3-0 win over Scotland.
Salt, standing in as skipper and wicketkeeper for the injured Jos Buttler, took four fours in Hazlewood’s next over but two were via streaky inside edges and he holed out off Sean Abbott for 20 after Cox launched into the night sky only for David to take a fantastic running catch.
After Adam Zampa skidded through Bethell’s defences, England were 68 for four at the halfway stage and stuck in quicksand.
Livingstone was hit in the helmet by Stoinis but cracked two fours in-between a heave for England’s first six in the all-rounder’s next over to give the hosts fleeting hope.
But when Curran miscued Abbott to backward square-leg and Livingstone under-edged Hazlewood on to his stumps in the next over, England’s bid for victory was all but ended. Zampa strangled England with two for 20, while Abbott finished with three wickets as Australia closed out a comfortable win.
