Australia opener Aaron Finch started his country’s home World Cup in style with a powerful knock of 135, becoming the first centurion of the tournament. His knock helped the Aussies set up a mammoth total of 342/9.
But the innings finished with a hat-trick for England. Pacer Steven Finn picked up a wicket each on the last 3 deliveries of the 50th over. He finished with figures of 5/71 and became the first Englishman to take a hat-trick since Andrew Flintoff in 2009.
But England didn’t even have a chance to respond as Mitchell Marsh ripped through its batting. The Aussie paceman picked up 5 wickets as he finished with 5/33 as England was wrapped up 231/10. James Taylor, who fought bravely for the English, was closing in on a personal milestone but perished for 98.
Australia registered a comprehensive 111-run victory and has started its home World Cup on a high. For England, there is a lot of work and soul searching to be done!