Right, that’s it from me. Thank you for your company and your emails. Join us again tomorrow for South Africa v Zimbabwe and then the big one: India v Pakistan. But for now, cheerio!
In lightning-fast fashion, here’s our quick match report.
Australia win by 111 runs
What a strange end. It hasn’t altered the outcome, though I suppose in theory in could affect the old net run-rate come the end of the group stages. Davide Corran on Twitter: CWC regs: “If following a Player Review ... original decision of ‘Out’ is changed to ‘Not Out’ then ball is deemed to have become dead.” The only fair thing to do now is surely a replay.
Anyway, England were utterly outplayed there. The only bright spot was James Taylor’s knock, or at least the second half of James Taylor’s knock. Australia confirmed what we already know – they look like winners in waiting.
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WICKET! Anderson run out 7
41st over: England 230-9 (Taylor 98, Anderson 7) Can Taylor get to his century? He flat-bats the first of Hazelwood’s over through the man at mid on to move to 98 … then a leg bye sees him stranded at the wrong end. Anderson leading edges up into the air but it just drops safe from Warner’s dive. From the next he’s slammed on the pad from a yorker. The finger goes up … but Taylor reviews and it’s missing leg by a whisker. But Anderson was run out as they scuttled through for an attempted leg bye. The crowds cheers the replay. But the umpire had given him out lbw. So the ball should be dead. Carnage. Taylor is convinced it should be a dead ball but the umpires have called it. Game over. Taylor is left stranded on 98 not out and Australia have won by 111 runs.
41st over: England 225-9 (Taylor 94, Anderson 7) Anderson survives for four balls then edges wide of slip for four! And a leave from the last means its a satisfactory over for England.
40th over: England 221-9 (Taylor 94, Anderson 3) Anderson again manages to dab the first ball of the over away for a single. Taylor struggles to lay bat on ball but then does manage to heave Johnson away for a two from the penultimate ball of the over. The last is a vicious bouncer that gives Starc another shot at Anderson.
39th over: England 218-9 (Taylor 92, Anderson 2) Anderson blocks away for a single. Taylor follows up with a brilliant flick over the keeper’s head for four as Starc attempts a slower ball bouncer, then a skittering two to square leg. The next … DROPPED! A drive squirts away behind square and Bailey gets his fingertips to it but can’t cling on at backward point. They run two and Taylor celebrates the reprieve with a fine edge for four more.
38th over: England 205-9 (Taylor 80, Anderson 1) So Anderson has five Mitchell Johnson balls to survive. The first is nicely blocked, the second is bunged horribly down the leg side and disappears away for five wides. That brings up the England 200. And an inside edge from the next allows Anderson to escape to the non-striker’s end with a single. Taylor has a couple of heaves then from the last does very well to guide a low full toss away to the point boundary. Though that does mean Anderson is on strike for Starc’s over …
WICKET! Finn c & b Johnson 1 (England 195-9)
Johnson bangs in a short one. Finn can’t get out of the way and the bowler takes a simple return catch as the ball loops up.
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37th over: England 195-8 (Taylor 76, Finn 1) Starc zips a couple past a groping Finn and is a whisker away from cleaning him up with another yorker. And from the last he pinches the strike with a single.
WICKET! Broad b Starc 0 (England 194-8)
Starc slams a yorker through Broad and sends the stumps a-flying.
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36th over: England 194-7 (Taylor 76, Broad 0) Taylor responds with a clever little shovel/late-cut/glance down to third man for four, then a flat-batted smack through the covers for four more. He moves on to 76 from 73 – at one point he had 13 from 32.
WICKET! Woakes c Smith b Johnson 37 (England 184-7)
And just as Hope threatens to poke its nose round the door … Mitchell Johnson (5-0-13-0) returns and becomes Mitchell Johnson (5.2-0-13-1). A nicely disguised slower ball does for Woakes, who can only send his lofted drive straight to Smith in the deep.
35th over: England 184-6 (Taylor 66, Woakes 37) Another huge six from Taylor, this one smashed down the ground off the bowling of the returning Mitchell Starc. Starc responds with some well-directed short stuff that has Taylor slapping at air. The required rate is still up at 10.60 despite this mini-revivial. Out of reach, but at least this pair have added a soupçon of respectability to proceedings from an England point of view.
34th over: England 176-6 (Taylor 59, Woakes 36) England take the batting power play. And Taylor immediately goes to his half century with a huge six. It’s an attempted slog-sweep off Marsh that take the top edge and flies into the stands at fine leg. He follows that up with a sweetly struck on drive over the top for four more. This is more like the James Taylor we saw in the NatWest ProMegaSuperBlastOff for Notts last year. Thirteen from the over.
33rd over: England 163-6 (Taylor 47, Woakes 35) More leather-trousers-tight line-and-length stuff from Watson.
“Ever since Woakes dropped that lollipop there was a sense of inevitability about today’s proceedings,” writes Martin Laidler. “Bit like applying for a job you know you wont get or contesting a speeding fine.”
32nd over: England 159-6 (Taylor 46, Woakes 32) Mitch Marsh (7-0-18-5) returns. Woakes wafts and misses at one outside off, then flicks away a single. Time for drinks.
31st over: England 157-6 (Taylor 45, Woakes 31) Shane Watson returns. Four singles are quietly milked.
30th over: England 153-6 (Taylor 43, Woakes 29) Taylor has finally found his mojo. And the middle of his bat. A thunking reverse-sweep off Maxwell disappears to the rope. Woakes joins the party with an orthodox sweep for four more, then a drive for three. This pair have added 22 runs in the past two overs.
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29th over: England 141-6 (Taylor 38, Woakes 22) Another piece of sloppy fielding sees a Taylor straight drive off Smith bobble over the rope. Then there’s a cut for three and an on-drive for a single. That was better from England, though it’s slightly easier going against a part-time spinner.
28th over: England 131-6 (Taylor 30, Woakes 20) Glen Maxwell once more. A reverse-sweep brings Taylor a couple more, courtesy of a misfield and in all there’s seven from the over in ones and twos.
27th over: England 124-6 (Taylor 27, Woakes 16) Steve Smith gets the chance to turn his arm over. Woakes late cuts for three, then Taylor smashes the last down to cow corner for four.
26th over: England 115-6 (Taylor 22, Woakes 12) Hazlewood once more. Taylor has another heave and takes a whack in the midriff as a result, then there’s a yelp of an appeal as the England No6 is clonked on the pads. Then … DROPPED! Taylor has another heave, skews the hook to midwicket, and Finch somehow fumbles the simplest of chances. From the last, Australia opt to review after Taylor misses another heaving pull. There’s nothing on Snicko and we’ve got no Hotspot to call on so it stays not out. The way Taylor is going, though, you feel it’s only a matter of time.
25th over: England 113-6 (Taylor 20, Woakes 12) Woakes drives sweetly through the covers for three. Taylor, who looks utterly becalmed, adds a couple of singles.
“Forget about the follow-on,” writes Sarah Bacon. “It might be time for England to consider a gutsy declaration. Just to keep the Aussies on their toes.”
24th over: England 107-6 (Taylor 18, Woakes 8) Hazlewood returns. Taylor takes England into three figures with a little guide down to third man, and from the last he dances down the track, has a huge heave and picks up a boundary thanks to a top edge over the keeper’s head.
23rd over: England 99-6 (Taylor 13, Woakes 5) Mitchell Starc returns. He strays onto Woakes’s pads with the last and is clipped away through midwicket for his trouble.
“Sorry I’m a bit lost here,” writes Niall Mullen. “How many runs do England need to avoid the follow-on?”
22nd over: England 94-6 (Taylor 11, Woakes 1) Mitch Marsh has a five-for. All six England wickets have been catches (two for Haddin, four in the outfield) which is a bit unusual. And they are on course for a 200+ run defeat.
WICKET! Buttler c Smith b Marsh 10 (England 92-6)
Another corking catch! This one is even better than Haddin’s effort. Buttler gives a drive the full beans but Smith leaps at short cover to take a stunning diving effort.
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21st over: England 91-5 (Taylor 10, Buttler 10) A boundary! A blessed boundary! Buttler unfurls the reverse sweep and beats the man scurrying around the rope.
20th over: England 81-5 (Taylor 8, Buttler 4) Mitchell Marsh has improbable figures of 5-0-13-4. England are in damage-limitation mode. Buttler is beaten all ends up outside off.
“Eight for three in five overs - that’s some world class collapsing in action,” writes James Taylor (not that one). “Hope my namesake manages to get a few but this could all be over in half an hour.”
19th over: England 79-5 (Taylor 7, Buttler 3) Morgan’s last five one-day innings: 0, 2, 0, 0, 0. There was the small matter of 121 at the SCG before that, but it’s a worryingly dismal run. Glenn Maxwell, who was so devastating with the bat earlier on, comes into the attack. The batsmen work a few singles.
18th over: England 73-5 (Taylor 5, Buttler 0) The required rate is almost an irrelevance at this point, but it’s gone tearing past eight an over and his well on its way towards nine.
WICKET! Morgan c Haddin b Marsh 0 (England 73-5)
A stunning catch from Brad Haddin! Morgan looks to pull and can only bottom edge through to the keeper, who has to change direction and get his left hand low enough to pluck the ball from just above the blades of grass. That was a corker. That’s three ducks in a row for the England captain.
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17th over: England 72-4 (Taylor 4, Morgan 0) There’s a brief delay as a pitch invader does what pitch invaders do. And once the interloper is disposed of, Johnson steams in again. He beats Taylor with a scramble-seamed cracker outside off. The next Taylor blocks … Johnson picks up and throws down the stumps. He’s ever-so-slightly pumped up I think it’s fair to say.
“Every England wicket so far a Mitch,” writes my colleague Barney Ronay. “One c Mitch b Mitch. Play the mitches out. Score at the other end.”
16th over: England 70-4 (Taylor 4, Morgan 0) Marsh (3-0-9-3) can barely keep the look of delighted expectancy off his coupon as he charges in again. Taylor works a him around, Morgan stays watchful.
“An England shambles?” writes Niall Mullen. “At a World Cup? Well I never ...”
If as an England fan you wanted to grasp for a positive, you could do worse than remember that they could quite conceivably lose three of their first four games in this tournament (against Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka) and still cruise into the quarters without too much fuss.
15th over: England 67-4 (Taylor 1, Morgan 0) With blood in the water, Australia go in for the kill: Johnson returns. Taylor blocks, blocks, has a huge waft at one outside off, and blocks. A skittering single off the last gets him off the mark.
14th over: England 66-4 (Taylor 0, Morgan 0) Morgan digs out the hat-trick ball. This is in danger of becoming a bit of a shambles for England.
WICKET! Root c Haddin b Marsh 4 (England 66-4)
Yuck. Marsh bangs in another short one, Root looks to help the ball on with a sort of paddle-pull, but can only top edge into the Melbourne sky. Haddin makes the ground and takes the catch. England are in a bit of a pickle here, to put it mildly. Mitch Marsh is on a hat-trick …
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WICKET! Bell c Starc b Marsh 36 (England 66-3)
Oh, Belly. Belly, Belly, Belly. His eyes light up as Marsh plops down something of a long hop, and it looks like he connects cleanly enough with his pull. But he fails to give quite enough oomph and can only pick out Mitchell Starc in the deep.
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13th over: England 65-2 (Root 4, Bell 36) Shane Watson, perhaps looking a little more svelte than usual, gets the ball in his hand for the first time today. Root dabbles him away for a single, then Bell pulls airily to midwicket for a couple more. Five in all from the over.
12th over: England 60-2 (Root 3, Bell 32) Marsh is mixing up his pace nicely here, making it difficult for the batsmen to get him off the square. The last, though, is a little too short, a little too wide and Bell is onto it in a flash, cutting with precision down to the point boundary.
11th over: England 54-2 (Root 2, Bell 27) Johnson gallops in once more. Gallop is the wrong word really. It’s almost a slither. Bell thunks one over the top of the covers – he doesn’t catch it cleanly but there’s enough on it to bring him another couple of runs.
10th over: England 50-2 (Root 1, Bell 24) Terrific captaincy from George Bailey – it seemed to be his idea to post the man at short midwicket, and neither Marsh nor Finch were particularly sold on the theory, but it’s done the job. Root gets off the mark immediately with a single.
“Re: Valentines cricketers,” writes Tom van der Gucht. “Let’s hope Ian ‘wedding’Bells hangs on in for a big century … I’ll get my coat.”
WICKET! Ballance c Finch b Marsh 10 (England 49-2)
Mitch Marsh enters the fray. And he’s bagged a wicket. Ballance looks to punch the ball through the on-side but it’s just too uppish and straight to the man at short midwicket.
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9th over: England 48-1 (Ballance 10, Bell 23) Bell thunks Johnson over the top of the covers for four. Groove Is In The Heart blasts over the public address system in celebration. It looks for a moment that he’s drilled the last to the rope too, but a brilliant stop from George Bailey keeps them to a single.
“I’m so fed up that I’m coming up with Valentine’s Day cricketers,” writes Steven Pye. “So far I have Franklyn Rose, Matthew Hart and Martin Love. That is all.” Match report written by Neville CARDus?
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8th over: England 43-1 (Ballance 10, Bell 18) Hazlewood continues, with the required run rate now just a smidgeon over seven an over. Ballance and Bell stay watchful – just a single each.
7th over: England 41-1 (Ballance 9, Bell 17) So then. Here comes Mitchell Johnson. He’s pretty much on-the-mark immediately but wangs down a wide with what should’ve been the last ball of the over. Just three from the over.
6th over: England 38-1 (Ballance 8, Bell 17) Bell nudges and hurdles Hazlewood around for a few, and Ballance then thunks the last ball of the over wide of mid on for four. Meanwhile, back in England 1000s of people are crawling out from underneath their cozy Saturday morning duvets, popping the kettle on, checking the score … and heading back to bed again wishing they hadn’t bothered.
5th over: England 29-1 (Ballance 4, Bell 12) That always looked on the cards – Moeen didn’t look remotely comfortable against Starc. In the end the pace was too much for him. That brings England’s new No3 to the crease, and he gets off the mark with an inside edge that whistles past the stumps and zips down to fine leg for four.
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WICKET! Ali c Bailey b Starc 10 (England 25-1)
Starc v Ali – only one winner. The England opener looks to thwack him over midwicket but can only skew straight to mid on, where George Bailey takes the simplest of catches.
4th over: England 24-0 (Ali 10, Bell 11) Cracking shot! Bell muscles Hazlewood through the covers for four. He cruises to 11 off 12, and Moeen Ali, after a very stodgy start, latches on to a loose wide ball and lofts to the point boundary for four. He follows that up with another – this time punched through the covers. Fourteen from the over.
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3rd over: England 10-0 (Ali 2, Bell 6) Starc is bowling beautifully here, but Bell bags the first boundary with a clever guide down to the rope at third man.
“Much has been made of the MCG and it’s mythical 300 run chase. Can I take an optimistic view point and say no one had stood on the moon until they did,” writes optimism’s Phil Withall. “Actually, I don’t believe it will happen but you have to try don’t you.”
2nd over: England 5-0 (Ali 2, Bell 1) Josh Hazlewood takes the new ball at the other end and off the seventh ball of the innings England finally get off the mark thanks to a wide. Bell clips a short one down to fine leg to pick up the first runs off the bat. And Ali gets off the mark from the last, tickling a couple down to third man.
1st over: England 0-0 (Ali 0, Bell 0) With the ground shrouded in a post-pyrotechnic fog, Mitchell Starc steams in and beats Ali outside off. He’s bang on the money immediately – Ali mentioned this week that he found Starc more of a challenge than Mitchell Johnson in the Tri-Series and he’s clearly struggling here. A maiden.
Just FYI: only two scores in excess of 275 have ever been chased down at the MCG, a nothing over 300 has been successfully knocked off.
Cheers Russ. Well, thus far this World Cup has gone exactly as expected: Sri Lanka’s bowlers were unable to restrict New Zealand to anything manageable and England’s death bowling had all the control and precision of a shopping trolley with a busted wheel.
England are chasing this total with a rejigged batting line-up – if you missed the team news earlier, Ravi Bopara has been replaced in the XI by Gary Ballance, which means James Taylor drops down the order to No6. Yes, I know. I know.
That rejigged order will have to set a plethora of records if they are to win this. More likely things will continue in line with the predicted path and England will be all out for 240-odd sometime around the 44th over. We shall see.
The Australian innings closes - England will chase 343
Well, that bizarre hat-trick brings to a close a commanding first-up batting effort from the Aussies after they were - and it’s important to remember this - sent in by Eoin Morgan. That didn’t work out so well, did it?
Finch and Warner started like a house on fire in their partnership of 57 but when Warner fell for 23 in the 8th over, it sparked a mini-collapse. Broad claimed Watson for a golden duck and when Steve Smith departed with only 5 to his name, the Aussies were 70-3 and in need of a minor rescue mission.
That came through Finch’s wonderful, boundary-laden knock of 133, which knocked the stuffing out of England in the middle overs. He combined with skipper George Bailey (55) in a 146-run partnership that got the Aussies back on track. There followed the late-order pyrotechnics from Glenn Maxwell (66 from 40), Brad Haddin (31 from 14) and Mitch Marsh (23) as the Aussies clattered 102 from the last 9 overs of the innings.
England’s death bowling, so often their undoing, was again several different varieties of awful. Finn (5-71 from 10), Broad (2-66 from 10) and Anderson (0-67 off 10) all toiled hard but resistance proved futile.
343 is a monumental task for a batting line-up as disjointed and unsettled as England’s. Can they even get close? You tend to doubt it. Taking you through that innings will be the incomperable John Ashdown. Thanks for having me.
If we're being critical, Finn should've celebrated that hat-trick like a total nutter and given Johnson a send-off. But that's nit-picking.
— Dave Tickner (@tickerscricket) February 14, 2015
HAT-TRICK! WICKET! Johnson c b Finn 0 (Australia finish 342-9)
Crazy stuff here as Finn finishes with a hat-trick. He bangs one in short and Johnson, knowing a boundary is the best bet to finish, instead slaps it straight to Anderson at mid-off. There have been some strange hat-tricks in ODIs but not many stranger than that. Finn finishes the innings with three consecutive wickets from three consecutive slogs. Good on him, really. ‘It’s in the book,’ as they say.
Not often you get a hat-trick and a 5-for when your side is taken for 342 but Finn ends with 5-71 off 10 overs.
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WICKET! Maxwell c Root b Finn 66 (Australia 342-8)
Now Maxwell perishes chasing quick runs, slamming a lofted off-drive down to Root at long-off. Finn is on a hat-trick!
WICKET! Haddin c Broad b Finn 31 (Australia 342-7)
Steve Finn is the man with the thankless task of sending down the last over of this Australian innings and Haddin starts by clocking him over point for three. Finn gives Maxwell too much width with the next, which is thundered over the head of cover and out to the rope and that’s followed by a single.
Haddin tries to belt the next into Sunday but can only sky it to Broad at third man. He completes a very tricky catch by diving forward on the run.
49th over - Australia 334-6 (Maxwell 61, Haddin 28)
Haddin is playing some kind of cameo here. Moments ago it looked like Maxwell who’d be the late-innings hero but now the Aussies keeper takes Anderson for a pair of boundaries, the second from a slower-ball bouncer that is artfully threaded between gully and point.
Anderson recovers somewhat with a pair of dots but then Maxwell spears him over cow for another boundary. It’s no point getting either of these batsmen off strike. They’ll both do damage.
Five England bowlers have conceded 60 today. 8th time that's happened in an ODI, 2nd time in a World Cup match http://t.co/c9pqdZaBsE #CWC15
— Andy Zaltzman (@ZaltzCricket) February 14, 2015
48th over - Australia 321-6 (Maxwell 57, Haddin 19)
Brad Haddin is loving this. Stuart Broad is back and the Aussie keeper is reprising his 2013-14 Ashes attitude, treating the England star like a rented car. He picks up a pair of boundaries by flicking Broad over third man and Australia are now beyond that 320 mark I spoke of so pessimistically. 340 is back on.
With that, Broad is done and finishes with 2-66 from his 10 overs.
Roses are red, violets are blue. Dear Brad Haddin stuff you
— Paul (@PaulFrame85) February 14, 2015
47th over - Australia 310-6 (Maxwell 57, Haddin 8)
Woakes is limping towards the finish line here and while his final over isn’t a total dud, it still gets taken for 11 runs as Haddin gets his mojo working
“You say little of the pitch, young Russell. You understand, do you not, that this stuff is important?” asks Robert Wilson. “With all these clean bowled off an edge moments, I’m thinking that MitJo and the increasingly smart and grumpy Starc might just fill their boots. What say you? Deep soil-based insights? Pithy Australianisms? Nothing?”
It’s a drop-in. What’s to know? Let’s see if England can’t make it look like 1988 Perth though.
Maxwell blazes his way to 50
46th over - Australia 299-6 (Maxwell 54, Haddin 0)
Maxwell won’t mine going it alone here. Finn gives him some width and he just crunches him over point for an eye-catching boundary. He’s a little luckier next up when a lusty follow-up slog takes the edge and bursts through Buttler’s fingers for four more.
If Finn is unlucky for that drop, he can only blame himself when Maxwell brings up 50 next by depositing a real shocker down to the fence at wide fine leg and then another even finer when Finn continues with that suicidal leg stump line.
Maxwell’s 50 came from 30 balls with 8 fours. Finn got a handy wicket to start that over but the rest of it was a horror show.
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Marsh c Root b Finn 23 (Australia 281-6)
Well, that was a little easier to predict. Marsh clears his front leg and tries to heave Finn over the long-off boundary but only succeeds in putting it down Root’s throat down on the rope. Still, a handy knock in the circumstances.
45th over - Australia 281-5 (Maxwell 36, Marsh 23)
Marsh has been biding his time while Maxwell launches but now he’s getting in on the fun, flogging Woakes down the ground for a pair of boundaries and then clipping two to a diving Root at fine leg. Maxwell doesn’t want to be outshone and finishes the over by flicking some real dross for four more to fine leg, signalling the continuation of Woakes’ dirty day. 16 cam from that over.
44th over - Australia 266-5 (Maxwell 32, Marsh 12)
With 2 overs up his sleeve, Anderson switches to the members end and does so to decent effect, limiting the Australian pair to four singles before Maxwell finally gets something he can work with. The last delivery is full but just a fraction wide of the line Anderson would have hoped, so Maxwell digs it out with those tree-trunk forearms of his and lifts it over cover for a boundary. Anderson bowled well then and still went for 8 runs.
43rd over - Australia 258-5 (Maxwell 26, Marsh 10)
Now Mitch Marsh gets in on the act, moving forward to Woakes and thumping him down the ground for four. Two balls later Maxwell is trying to hook one into Row Z but the ball is held back a bit and instead strikes the Aussie in the shoulder. The Australian intent right now is murderous. Buckle in.
@rustyjacko England's fifth bowler has gone for 71 today. Might need to work on that in future matches.
— Steve Pye (@1980sSportsBlog) February 14, 2015
42nd over - Australia 250-5 (Maxwell 25, Marsh 4)
Next up: Stuart Broad. He’s been met by the pantomime boos of locals today but none of them really hate him, it’s just fun to boo Englishmen, really. He does alright there for a bit, conceding only 2 from his first 4 balls but then Maxwell skips down the pitch like Paul Mercurio and mauls him for a pair of straight boundaries. The last is a little uppish but complaining that you almost caught Glenn Maxwell is like being annoyed that Shane McGowan spilled his drink on you.
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41st over - Australia 240-5 (Maxwell 16, Marsh 3)
Fun fact: 2015 England are about as good at stopping sides from scoring in the last 10 overs as West German athletes were at staying away from the medicine cabinet in the mid-70s. Things could get crazy from here.
Steve Finn is first man tasked with putting an end to that worrying trend here and does fairly well in conceding only three runs from the 41st. Australia too has probably adjusted its expectations a little with the recent loss of wickets but 320 is definitely on the cards if they get going.
40th over - Australia 236-5 (Maxwell 12, Marsh 3)
He’s copped a hiding at times, Mooeen Ali, but Morgan brings him back for this 40th over. Maxwell responds with a typical lack of circumspection, hoicking him over the keepers’ head for two in a sign that he wants to get things moving. Marsh is happier to nudge the ball around for the time being.
39th over - Australia 230-5 (Maxwell 8, Marsh 1)
That was a brilliant over from Finn, only two runs from it and he also picked up the important wicket of Bailey, a noted tormentor of death bowlers.
@rustyjacko Just woken up and seen my first three balls of this match. A six, a four and a botched run out attempt. Oh I love England.
— Steve Pye (@1980sSportsBlog) February 14, 2015
WICKET! Bailey b Finn 55 (Australia 228-5)
One brings two for England. Now Bailey departs, chopping on to his stumps from Finn while attempting to glide a single down to third man. That’s potentially a blow for the Aussies because they’ll now have two new batsmen at the crease, Maxwell and Mitch Marsh. Or is it a blow? Maybe they’ll just go ballistic from ball one.
38th over - Australia 228-4 (Bailey 55, Maxwell 7)
What, you didn’t expect Glenn Maxwell to go more than an over without bringing out the reverse sweep, did you? Facing up to Moeen he gets in the position early and thumps a boundary out to what should be deep point and in soing so, helps Australia continue on their merry way towards 350.
Finch run out Morgan 135 (Australia 216-4)
37th over - Australia 219-4 (Bailey 52, Maxwell 1)
Finally a breakthrough for England as Finch throws things away a little with a potential double-century beckoning. He clubs one out to wide mid-off and sets off to run, but sensing that he’s miles out of his ground, barely attempts to recitify the situation before Morgan fires the ball into the stumps.
That was a magnificent hand by Finch, full of brutal hitting and on the biggest stage of all. It featured 12 fours and 3 sixes and has his side in a commanding position with Maxwell’s late-hitting to come. George Bailey, meanwhile, has brought up a half-century of genuine quality.
36th over - Australia 210-3 (Finch 133, Bailey 47)
England are a mess right now; impotent with the ball and fairly useless in the field too. A reverse-sweep from Finch off Moeen is mis-fielded and reaches the fence, then the Victorian slog-sweeps six and bludgeons a cut forward of point for four to make it 16 from the over. Mooen is being pasted everywhere and Finch is in a savage mood.
35th over - Australia 194-3 (Finch 117, Bailey 47)
Anderson starts his 8th over now and he’s also enticing Bailey into a lusty blow out to cow, one that hangs in the air for an age before dropping between Broad and Ballance in the deep. You have to feel like a more agile man than the latter wold have gotten there. His name, dare I say it, might have even been Ravi.
That signals the end of the Powerplay, which yielding 33 runs but no wickets for the English. They’re looking a bit uninspired now in the field.
34th over - Australia 188-3 (Finch 115, Bailey 43)
Woakes keeps wheeling away after the drinks break, but he’s hardly made amends for his monumental gaffe in the opening over of the game. He’s milked for four singles to start with and then Bailey clatters him in the air over extra cover for an attractive boundary. Is it time to start talking about predicted scores? I think 330-350 would be the Australian aim right now.
@rustyjacko Only Boonie has scored 100 for Oz *in* Oz at CWC. Finchy for PM?! Only if he beat Boonie's 52 cans, I reckon. Go you good thing.
— sarah jane bacon (@sportzzzgirl) February 14, 2015
33rd over - Australia 179-3 (Finch 113, Bailey 36)
You can’t accuse Eoin Morgan from resting on his laurels here. Again he’s changed things up, bringing Broad back after Finn had only sent own one innefectual over at the southern end. Broad is frugal, conceding a trio of singles before tying down Finch; no easy task at the moment. I watched Finch bat in the nets on Wednesday and thought he looked awful. Shows how much I know.
Wonder how England's dropped catches fines work. Woakes gonna need a small mortgage soon if it's $$/run #AUSvENG #CWC15
— Will Macpherson (@willis_macp) February 14, 2015
32nd over - Australia 176-3 (Finch 112, Bailey 34)
Is Chris Woakes the answer here? We’ll soon find out, because he’s back to replace Moeen from the Members end. A two and then a hurried single to mid-on is all the first five deliveries to Finch cost and Bailey manages just one himself. That’s a net win the way things have been going in the last 10 overs.
Aaron Finch is 4th Australian to score a 100 on World Cup debut after Trevor Chappell (1983), Geoff Marsh (1987) & A Symonds (2003). #CWC15
— Rajneesh Gupta (@rgcricket) February 14, 2015
Finch reaches a magnificent century
31st over - Australia 172-3 (Finch 109, Bailey 33)
Finch faces up to Finn and blasts his way to the century-mark, clomping the tall Englishman down to long-on and leaping into the air like a well-fed salmon as he celebrates a splendid knock. His hundred came in 129 minutes, from 102 balls and with nine boundaries and two sixes.
Moments later the 100 partnership comes up between this two, one that took a while to get going but is looking menacing. Finch is on the move now, following his milestone with a two, a four and a single. How big could he go here? 150? Dare I ask, 200?
30th over - Australia 161-3 (Finch 98, Bailey 33)
Finch is creeping ever-so-slightly towards his you-kknow-what and there’s a nervy moment in the room here when he hits a ‘crowd catch’ to point, one that obviously grubbed into the ground as he struck it. He clips a single to leg to finish the over on 98.
29th over - Australia 158-3 (Finch 96, Bailey 32)
You know what we haven’t discussed yet? Valentine’s Day. If you’re reading this, I’m going to take a stab in the dark and assume that like me, you are failing in your romantic duties. Do you have plans to make it up to your partner though? I got in early; a bunch of flowers, some chocolate and a cued-up DVD of series 3 of The Killing. Hot, huh?
Broad’s over finishes with a ludicrously hopeful LBW appeal but at least only costs a single and the leg bye he was trying to mitigate with his theatrics.
28th over - Australia 156-3 (Finch 96, Bailey 31)
Again Moeen manages to eliminate boundary-balls from his repertoire, conceding four singles in an over that will keep his skipper happy. It’s also keeping the over rate ticking along nicely, too.
Pretty handy cricketer running the drinks for Australia today. Live: http://t.co/D1NM64rdHt #CWC15 #AUSvENG pic.twitter.com/wsJOWiqTVM
— FOX SPORTS Cricket (@FOXCricketLive) February 14, 2015
27th over - Australia 152-3 (Finch 94, Bailey 29)
Morgan has seen enough of Root, so Stuart Broad is called back into action a little sooner than he might have liked but by his fifth delivery he’s banging in exactly the kind of half-track filth that George Bailey loves slapping to the mid-wicket boundary. England are in a holding pattern here.
Wonder how Chris Woakes is feeling now ? #AUSvENG #GoGold
— Brett Graham (@worldofBG) February 14, 2015
26th over - Australia 146-3 (Finch 93, Bailey 24)
Moeen does no better than Root, really. His first delivery this over is short and Finch has an eon to step back and spear a cut to the boundary. A pair of singles follow and the Aussies are in cruise control. I have some predictions about this Finch innings but, well, I don’t want to mozz him.
25th over - Australia 140-3 (Finch 88, Bailey 23)
You can see Morgan’s thinking here; squeeze a few overs of spin out of Joe Root before the mad scramble of the last 15 overs is under way. The problem with that approach though is that Aaron Finch loves facing part-time bowlers as much as Chris Gayle likes buying garish sunglasses. Root is pumped over the fence at long-on and also slog-swept for four. Not much chop, in other words.
24th over - Australia 129-3 (Finch 77, Bailey 23)
Moeen finds a better groove here, conceding singles but no boundaries and rarely giving the Aussie pair room to free their arms and attack. Still, Finch continues to ease his way towards a century and he’s looked untroubled in doing so.
23rd over - Australia 125-3 (Finch 75, Bailey 21)
Sorry folks, a couple of technical difficulties in that over but Finch did wallop Anderson for a massive six off the toe of the bat. It must be ice to mis-hit them that well.
22nd over - Australia 117-3 (Finch 68, Bailey 20)
He was productive in his first over, but Mooeen can’t drop half-trackers towards leg and hope for George Bailey to miss. The Australian captain sweeps four and then pushes a single to long on to keep himself busy and Aaron Finch gets four more when he gets down on one knee and laps the off-spinner past Buttler’s face down to fine leg. Ten come from a decidedly patchy over from Moeen.
21st over - Australia 107-3 (Finch 63, Bailey 15)
As a tourist, does one ever become comfortable at a ground as expansive and grand as the MCG? Jimmy Anderson looks completely unfussed as he trots back to his mark and again produces some miserly fare and that forces Aaron Finch to dance down the pitch and swing him to fine leg just to break up the bowlers’ rhythm. He gets two.
20th over - Australia 105-3 (Finch 61, Bailey 15)
Moeen Ali trots over and hands the umpire his cap now and we’re going to have some off spin. A good thing too, based on his first delivery, which jags in nicely to rap Finch on the pad. Four dots are followed by a single to long-on, the only score of the over.
I can’t here the commentary, but from this I would gather that it’s delivering in fine style:
A "part time bowler" and a "I haven't seen much of him". Sigh
— Peter Miller (@TheCricketGeek) February 14, 2015
19th over - Australia 104-3 (Finch 60, Bailey 15)
As this Australian innings meanders towards middle-age, Jimmy Anderson is back to pep things up a little bit and hopefully produce a spell of greater potency than his first. “Egerlund, Engerlund, Engerlunddddd...” is the chant of the Barmy Army as he sashays his way towards the crease. His over is a good one too, tight at least. Five dots are followed by a classic Bailey slash between point and gully, from which the Aussie skipper picks up two.
For those wondering about the crowd, it looks some way off the forecast 90,000 but is healthy nontheless.
18th over - Australia 102-3 (Finch 60, Bailey 13)
I don’t want to act as a Krishnan Patel-level jinx, but it’s probably worth pointing out at this stage that Aaron Finch - with this handsome start of his - must be close to odds-on to progress to three figures. A ton or nothing, that seems to be his go. Facing Finn he caresses a drive through cover for one to move to 60, which represents almost two-thirds of his sides’ score today.
Australia bring up their 100 from 107 deliveries when Bailey clobbers an artless three wide of the man at point.
17th over - Australia 96-3 (Finch 57, Bailey 10)
Woakes is doing the desired job right now, but you wonder what David Warner might have made of a few of his slot-balls if he’d hung around long enough to face England’s second-string pacemen. Here he’s worked for three singles but Bailey in particular has a word with himself when he doesn’t make the most of the stroke-making opportunities presented.
16th over - Australia 93-3 (Finch 55, Bailey 7)
Finn keeps rolling after the drinks break and if he’s lacking in the wicket-threatening potency Broad managed earlier, he’s at least keeping things tight until Bailey uses some width to play a handsome square drive for three and then runs two more down to 3rd man. This is a consolidation period for the Aussies; the don’t want to charge now and risk further loss of wickets, but they need to keep things ticking.
15th over - Australia 86-3 (Finch 53, Bailey 4)
Woakes has struck up a decent bowling partnership with Finn here. The only troibling moment is for James Taylor at short leg when the paceman drops short and George Bailey again seeks to decapitate the man in close. And that is drinks.
14th over - Australia 83-3 (Finch 51, Bailey 3)
Finn is clamping down on Finch with impressive powers of control here. A single to Bailey is followed by four dots and Finch can only pick up a single when he bunts to the leg side.
“Wow… What a difference a few overs makes! Chickpeas burnt to a cinder,” says Martin Wright. “Don’t care.”
Do we sometimes underrate the chickpea factor in one-day internationals? Perhaps.
Updated
Finch brings up 50
13th over - Australia 81-3 (Finch 50, Bailey 2)
Aaron Finch has been an imposing presence so far today, even as wickets have fallen around him. He brings up 50 in unconventional circumstances after a misfield at mid-on lets him scamper though for a single. His milsetone came in 61 minutes, from 42 balls and with five boundaries. It’s followed by another strange sight when Bailey clobbers a pull shot straight into the squatting Moeen Ali at short leg. It would be harsh to put that down as a chance. He could have seriously hurt him.
@rustyjacko Pfft. We're still gonna win. Even my Pommy husband is telling me I'm overreacting to the loss of three wickets #CricketWorldCup
— sarah jane bacon (@sportzzzgirl) February 14, 2015
Updated
12th over - Australia 77-3 (Finch 47, Bailey 1)
Steve Finn is into the attack for Broad now and he starts ingloriously when his second ball is caned through square leg for a boundary to Finch. He’s tidy otherwise, only conceding a single to leg and halting any progress from the new man Bailey.
11th over - Australia 72-3 (Finch 42, Bailey 1)
George Bailey is on a hiding to nothing here. Pull Australia out of trouble with a solid knock and he still gets dropped for Michael Clarke, fail and he deserves it anyway. He gets off the mark early to settle his nerves but there’s 39 overs ahead of him now, what can he produce for his side?
“We should surely thank Krishnan (over 10) for Steve Smith’s wicket,” says Steve Bourne. “Can we make sure he stays in bed and doesn’t come back again to spoil it all?” Krishnan, you have your new rules.
WICKET! Smith b Woakes 5 (Australia 70-3)
Steve Smith means business. First ball of this over from Woakes he stands up straight and high and just belts the bejeezus out of an on drive when the ball was still rising. It races away to the long-on boundary. But then...calamity for the Aussies and their batting star. Woakes pursues the channel outside off stump and reaching for the ball but also falling forward a little with his footwork, Smith clips an inside edge back onto his stumps. He’s gone!
The Aussies are in a bit of bother here. Can England sustain this wicket-taking pressure or will Bailey, Maxwell, Marsh and Haddin save the day?
10th over - Australia 66-2 (Finch 41, Smith 1)
Broad continues with decidedly less impact than his last over, being nudged around by both batsmen as Smith gets off the mark for the tournament. He finishes with a fast, trampolining bouncer that really should have been called a wide but he gets away with it.
Krishnan Patel is in a funk and this tournament is only 10 overs old. “I always thought it was Woakes’ steady-as-you-go length bowling or completely ineffectual batting that was going to cost us....who knew he’d invent another way by putting down a dolly...Really hate it when you get up so early in the morning to see complete basics being done wrong. Finch century written all over it. Off. to. sleep. now.”
9th over - Australia 60-2 (Finch 36, Smith 0)
With the double-breakthrough under his belt now, Morgan introduces Chris Woakes from the Southern end of the ground for his first spell of the day. Finch works him for two and also a single but it’s a tidy start from the all-rounder.
Broad going through his full repertoire. Awful short filth, superb wicket-taking deliveries, appeals for things that are not remotely out.
— Dave Tickner (@tickerscricket) February 14, 2015
8th over - Australia 57-2 (Finch 33, Smith 0)
The action has been a little frenetic in the last few minutes but Steve Smith manages to survive a fast, accurate yorker from the hat-trick ball and then a follow-up around his ears, which almost took an edge. What an over from Broad, he’s gone from villain to hero in a very brief spell of this game. His side are now right in this.
WICKET! Watson c Buttler b Broad 0 (Australia 57-2) - Broad on a hat-trick!
Broad strikes again! This time he’s claiming Watson for a golden duck with a delivery that jagged in a little on the perfect line and length to draw a thick edge. Buttler makes no mistake behind the stumps and the burly Australian all-rounder is gone first ball! England. Are. Back.
Smith faces the hat-trick ball...
— Chris Stocks (@StocksC_cricket) February 14, 2015
WICKET! Warner b Broad 22 - Australia 57-1
Morgan is sticking with his guns here, so Broad gets one more go. Finch only manages a single from the first but Warner hoists the next high and long, one bounce into the boundary at deep square leg. Next up England finally get some joy as Warner, eager to cement his side’s ascendency, gets a little loose to a fast, in-slanting delivery that glances his pads and cannons into the stumps. That is a huge relief for England.
7th over - Australia 52-0 (Warner 18, Finch 32)
Jimmy Anderson is normally a demon in the opening 10 overs of ODIs but he seems to be falling into the general malaise that afflicts his team. He spears one down leg to Finch to start this over and is disdainfully flicked to the fine leg boundary, just out of the reach of a chugging, non-diving Gary Ballance.
Finch and Warner, on the other hand, are flying. Their 50 partnership comes in 29 minutes and from 37 balls. England need to change something - everything even - and do it very fast.
6th over - Australia 47-0 (Warner 18, Finch 27)
Broad gets a chance to right his many wrongs of the previous over and England even thing they have a chance of a run-out to begin the over. That doesn’t quite come off, but Broad at least starts with a few dot balls before Finch is flashing him down to third man for a single. Warner then gets three with a streaky inside edge, but Broad is even bowling wides now. It’s an altogether shabby start from England, no doubt about it. It does seem a little appropriate though, given their preparations.
“Gorgeous morning in Mumbai,” says Martin Wright, “chickpeas bubbling away on the stove, parakeets darting through the trees outside, what could possibly go wrong? Oh, Woakes.”
“What is the record score at the MCG?” asks one wag in the press box.
Warner dropped by Moeen!
5th over - Australia 41-0 (Warner 15, Finch 25)
Bang! Now Finch is after Anderson, cracking the first ball of his over straight down the ground with a glorious drive that thuds into the boundary. There follows two down to fine leg and an attractive cover drive for three.
If Anderson thinks he’ll get any let-up from Warner he’s sadly mistaken and worse, one of the two boundaries he crunches through mid-off goes through the hands of Moeen Ali. It was a tough chance - Moeen was diving at something close to a full stretch - but you’ve seen them taken. It simply burst through his hands and raced away for four.
4th over - Australia 23-0 (Warner 7, Finch 16)
Finch gets on the attack now, planting his foot down the wicket and hoisting Broad high and a little scratchily over the bowlers’ head for four and then clubbing three more through mid-wicket. Broad is having a shocker, in fact. Next up it’s Warner who is clipping him for runs, three over the head of square leg.
There’s no let-up for Broad, especially when he’s bowling half-trackers like tge one that Finch blasts to deep square leg for a boundary. The only dot ball of the over is the last, an awkward one into Warner’s bread basket. Is it time to let Woakes put his mistake right? Broad was demolished in that over and it’s cost 15 runs to get the Aussie pair going.
3rd over - Australia 8-0 (Warner 4, Finch 4)
Now it’s Warner’s turn to live on the edge. He pushes forward to Anderson but with the ball just short of a good length and moving away from the left-hander, again it almost kisses the outside edge. Two balls later Anderson is a fraction straight and he’s whipped through mid-wicket for two.
“There’ll definitely be some sledging going on,” says Disco Bob, “however it will be from Anderson to Woakes.”
It’s a tight start from England but you wonder how badly they might rue that chance in the first over. As far as tournament omens go, it feels like a bad one.
2nd over - Australia 6-0 (Warner 2, Finch 2)
And now another reshuffle. Chris Woakes has tended to take the new ball for England but fresh from that drop off Anderson, he’s been relieved of those duties in favour of Stuart Broad. With his second delivery angled down leg, Broad lets Warner clip to fine leg for one and Finch gets the same leniency to pick up two.
Again Finch is playing with hard hands and boundaries on his mind, driving lustily and almost sending an edge through to Buttler behind the wicket. Perhaps hastened a little, he lets the next one pass by.
Reader Dave Heffernan is glum already. “How many failures is Morgan away from being referred to as ‘The Irishman’ or ‘the Dubliner Morgan’ by English commentators?” he asks. “Conversely, if he scores a couple of tons, how long of a hiatus does any mention of his nationality get?”
Finch dropped by Woakes in the very first over
1st over - Australia 3-0 (Warner 1, Finch 2)
Anderson grabs the new ball for England and with the crowd still far from heaving but nevertheless in full voice, sends down a fast, in-swinging opener that Warner bats gently to the off side. Two balls later Warner gets off the mark pushing wide of cover for a single and that give Finch his first look at Anderson.
Finch has a nervy moment to start, shuffling across and wafting at a ball he should have left and then clipping an on-drive straight through the hands of Woakes at forward square leg. That was an absolute sitter! Finch gets two to boot and that is a disastrous start for England. Oh dear. He should have gobbled that chance, the England all-rounder.
Both teams line up for the national athems
Both are accompanied to their singing positions by a battalion of small children in sponsor’s shirts. Some of them will standing there dreaming that they too will one day feature in a shambolically-constructed batting order. We’re only moments away from a start now. This. Is. Brilliant.
The crowd is filtering in now and taking seats
With under 15 minutes until we’re under way, the cavernous stands of the MCG are far from packed. Perhaps they’re pacing themselves. Either way they’re missing the thrilling sight of the World Cup trophy being carried out onto the ground by a pair of Emirates air stewardesses. I guess it’s the traditions that I love so much about the World Cup.
A little bit more on that England batting line-up
It’s err, a little bit mad don’t you think? They’ve essentially thrown out every bit of preparation leading up to the tournament at the last minute and gone with an entirely new configuration. Make it up as you go. What must James Taylor be thinking? He’s never batted at six in ODIs and now he does so on the MCG, in a World Cup. How does Gary Ballance adjust to essentially being told, “there you go mate, it’s all yours”?
England fans, what do you think about this chaos? Could this actually just be a cunning ploy, a circuit-breaker or some kind of reverse psychology?
Some other factors worthy of note
If you were basing your predictions for today on recent history, you’d have a hard time convincing yourself that England can pull off an opening-day upset here. Australia has lost just two of its last 20 home ODIs and none of them here at the MCG. A total lack of expectation is perhaps the only thing going in favour of England, because they face a side that bats deep and with murderous intent, plus a prolific, dangerous trio of fast bowlers.
Those Australian bowlers will be well aware of the recent fallibility of English captain Eoin Morgan, who has lost his wicket 5 times in the last 19 balls he’s faced. It can’t get any worse, I suppose.
And now to the team line-ups
England’s side today
Bell, Ali, Ballance, Root, Morgan (captain), Taylor, Buttler, Woakes, Broad, Finn, Anderson
Not shy of throwing out a good deal of the planning they’ve done for this tournament, England discarded Ravi Bopara at its eve and his place will be taken by Gary Ballance. The latter at least knocked himself into some form with a sturdy 57 in the warm-up game against Pakistan, a game in which Joe Root (85) also hit his straps. That’s forced a reshuffle of the order, mind. Ballance will bat at three and Taylor’s shunted down to six.
Australia’s side today
Warner, Finch, Watson, Smith, Bailey (captain), Maxwell, Haddin, Marsh, Johnson, Starc, Hazlewood
Though he’s skipper today and has made more ODI runs than any Australian in the last three years, George Bailey will make way for Michael Clarke next Saturday against Bangladesh. That and the continued absence of James Faulkner aside, the Australian line-up is as settled as can be. Their only headache here was who to pick from Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins. Hardly an existential crisis, is it? They’ve gone with Hazlewood in the end, who’ll be a handful with his pace and steepling bounce.
The Toss
We’re confronted with the unfamiliar but quite welcome sight of Athers taking the two captains on a leisurely stroll towards the centre and with a specially-minted coin - presented with much fanfare and a few giggles - George Bailey tosses and loses. Eoin Morgan elects to bowl.
Some other reading before this game starts
We’re still 35 minutes off a start here, so there’s some time to graze over the following primers. It will have been hard to miss if you have an internet connection, but if you were hiding under a rock yesterday, here’s Geoff ‘Viral’ Lemon’s evisceration of the Nine commentary team.
And maybe you’re not yet sick of World Cup previews and predictions and want to know how the Guardian team think things will pan out at this tournament. Yes, that’s definitely what you want to do.
There’s also Barney Ronay on the 1992 Englishmen, including some lovely vignettes on Chris Lewis, who remains against considerable odds at the top of my list of 1990s cricket favourites.
And Dileep Premachandran on Virat Kohli and the huge match-up between India and Pakistan tomorrow.
Updated
Some weather news from Melbourne
It’s all clear! We had a lot of rain overnight and the covers were on early, but we’re now confronted with glorious blue skies and the MCG’s famed drainage qualities have come to the fore. The meteorologists are also indicating that the worst is behind us, so hope remains that we’ll get a full allotment of overs in. The sun is quite literally shining on this encounter now.
Hello OBOers and welcome to this glorious opening day of the 2015 Cricket World Cup. Russell Jackson here at the MCG, taking you through the first half of England and Australia’s opening clash in front of a crowd that might nudge past the 90,000 mark. If the first day of an Ashes Boxing Day Test is Cricket Christmas than this must be something very close. A World Cup! Can you believe it? It’s here!
“Greatness is contagious” say the hoardings around this famous arena. So is Ebola, I suppose, but I am fully exposing myself to this wonderful, wonderful disease. I want it, you see. I’m licking as many hand rails as I can and letting this Cricket World Cup cough directly into my mouth. England probably have someone with a job title like ‘Infection Control Facilitator’ now that I think. Maybe I should have a word with them.
Perhaps you’re not as excited as I am yet yourself and that’s fair enough. Unlike me, you probably haven’t just been walking among grown adults wearing 1992 World Cup replica shirts. It might take time. Email me on russell.jackson@theguardian.com or harass me via twitter - @rustyjacko - and let me know how you’re marking this occasion, no matter how muted.
For those champing at the bit, yes, the Cricket World Cup is finally here - and what better way to enjoy the first day than with a clash between the best of old friends, England and Australia.
Russell Jackson will be joining us shortly to take centre, mark his crease and keep you fully abreast of what’s happening in Melbourne.
Until then, check out John Ashdown’s team-by-team guide or see which sides have our experts excited.
Something for everyone, really. So put the kettle on – Rusty will be with you shortly.
