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Australia secured a comfortable seven-wicket victory over England in the opening one-day international in Perth, led by a record-setting performance from debutant pace bowler Mahli Beardman. The 21-year-old claimed six wickets to bowl the visitors out for 132 runs at Optus Stadium, a total Australia surpassed in 23.3 overs.
Beardman Sets Debut Record in England Collapse
Playing on his home ground, Beardman delivered the best bowling figures by an Australian on ODI debut, finishing with 6-24 from 7.4 overs. His performance broke the previous national record set by Tony Dodemaide, who took 5-21 against Sri Lanka in 1988. Beardman took five of his wickets during a 28-ball spell to slice through England’s batting lineup.
After being put into bat, England were dismissed in 33.4 overs. Beardman removed captain Harry Brook for one, Joe Root for 17 in his 200th ODI appearance, and Jordan Cox for two. He also dismissed Sam Curran and Liam Dawson for ducks, before wrapping up the innings when last man Jofra Archer was caught for 11. Left-arm pacer Spencer Johnson took 3-42, including the wicket of Ben Duckett for nine, while Xavier Bartlett dismissed Tom Banton for 25.
England avoided falling below their lowest-ever ODI total of 86 thanks to late runs from Will Jacks, who scored 25, and Gus Atkinson, who top-scored with an unbeaten 29 off 32 balls. Atkinson hit the only six of England’s innings to push the score past 100.
Australia Cruise to Victory in Chase
Chasing 132 for victory, Australia lost opener Travis Head for a golden duck in the second over when he was bowled by Atkinson. Stand-in captain Mitchell Marsh quickly shifted momentum back to the home side, striking a 29-ball half-century that featured four boundaries and four sixes before he was caught with 65 runs needed. Cooper Connolly added 27 runs off 30 balls to complete the win.
Marsh led Australia with regular captain Pat Cummins rested alongside fellow fast bowlers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood. England were also missing injured players Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler, and Josh Tongue. The loss follows a difficult tri-series campaign for England in Pakistan last month, where they lost three of four matches.
Captains React and Off-Field Focus
The match was played against the backdrop of renewed attention on the 2018 ball-tampering incident in Cape Town. Earlier in the day, Cummins held a 68-minute press conference denying claims made in Usman Khawaja’s new book that players were aware of the scheme, calling the assertions “100 per cent untrue” and “utter nonsense.”
Following the defeat, England captain Harry Brook acknowledged his team’s struggles on the surface. “We have been in Perth for a week and a half and prepared extremely well [but] Australia bowled extremely well,” Brook said. He commended Beardman’s performance, adding, “We probably didn’t execute our skills well enough.” Brook noted that the team intends to learn from the outing ahead of next year’s World Cup in South Africa.
Australian skipper Mitchell Marsh praised Beardman’s debut, describing him as a “fantastic young kid” who brings great energy to the squad. “He has had a few injury problems but he is a really confident, gentle young man,” Marsh said, calling it a “fantastic start to his career.”
Australia will look to seal the three-match series in the second ODI on Sunday in Adelaide, ahead of the final game in Hobart on Wednesday.
