Australia proved to be too strong with the ball for England in the first one-day international on Thursday, and the world champions will look to take a firm grip on the five-match series when the 2nd ODI comes calling on Saturday at Lord's.
The depth of Australia's batting and their seam bowling prowess was the difference in the first match, with Matthew Wade and Mitchell Marsh putting on a century partnership for the seventh wicket to get their team past the300-run mark, before the bowlers did the business in the middle overs to bowl England out, 59 runs short of Australia's total.
Wade has been the preferred option as the one-day wicketkeeper following the retirement of Brad Haddin, and the talented batsman firmed his grip on the position with a matchwinning half-century, which came at a time when Australia looked like they might get bowled out before the 50 overs, let alone cross 300.
"It's always tough when you're not in the team," Wade, who was adjudged the man of the match, said. "But luckily enough I got those opportunities, to play three games here and I managed to play five against South Africa last summer.
"To be around the team there and still be able to go back to Victoria and be able to work on a few little things [was perfect]. Every innings you play for Australia is important but at the start of the series it's nice to get away for sure."
While Australia eventually finished on a solid 305 for six in their 50 overs, they will be worried over the way their middle order collapsed to the bowling of leg-spinner Adil Rashid, who finished with four wickets in the match.
They cannot obviously expect Wade and Marsh to bail them out all the time, and the likes of David Warner, Joe Burns, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, George Bailey and Shane Watson will be keen to make more of a contribution with the willow in the rest of the series, starting with the second one-day international on Saturday.
For England, it was a bit of a reality check after that near-unbelievable ODI series against New Zealand, and if the hosts are to threaten in the remaining four matches against Australia, their batting lineup will need to step up.
"I think restricting them, we were really happy," England captain Eoin Morgan told ECB's official website. "It became harder to score but after the start we got, we were never behind the rate and it never escalated so I certainly think it wasn't the wicket that let us down, it was our skill."
2nd ODI Schedule: England vs Australia (10.30 am BST, 3 pm IST, 5.30 am ET) at Lord's in London.
