Travis Head's Outstanding Century Leads Australia To A Resounding Victory Over England

The left-hander led a struggling Australian side to a seven-wicket romp in the opening ODI match against England

Head smashed career-best 154, marking sixth ODI century /

By Ian Omoro

In the opening One-Day International (ODI) of the current series, Australia triumphed over England. The first ODI at Trent Bridge on Thursday, September 19, saw England bat first. In the game's opening inning, the team scored 315 runs thanks to a masterful batting display.

As Australia started to chase the target, it was star batsman Travis Head's knock that enabled the visitors to pull off an incredible victory. Travis Head, who began the innings for the men in yellow, went on to smash 154* runs in 129 deliveries as Australia amassed 315 runs in 44 overs to win the match by seven wickets.

Marnus Labuschagne, a masterful veteran stager, returned to assist the 30-year-old World Cup final hero Head, who has been winning matches for the previous 18 months. Together, they have an uninterrupted partnership of 148.

Head received the Player of the Match award for his outstanding performance. After receiving the award, the star batter spoke about Australia's performance and how they overcame a challenging start to the run chase to win it.

“I've worked extremely hard over a few years, and I probably play the game a bit more relaxed now. I take it for what it is and try to enjoy what I'm doing. It's coming off in the way I'm playing,” Head said in a post-match conference.

After being up 211-2 after 32 overs, England would have expected more, but Australia's spinners, which included part-time slow bowler Marnus Labuschag, managed to slow down the run rate and capture nine wickets in all, all of them at critical junctures. Head was involved with two of the seven wickets that England lost for 83 runs.

The second ODI of the five-match series between the fierce cricket rivals is at Headingley on Saturday, and Australia will hope to have senior players Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Glenn Maxwell available after they missed out in Nottingham because of illness.

Australian bowler Ben Dwarshuis is expected to be sidelined after he went off injured during England's innings while making his ODI debut due to a possible pectoral strain he suffered when throwing off-balance from the boundary.