Smith: England one of the best teams in the world

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Australia captain Steve Smith admits England are seen as one of the best teams in the world in ODI cricket and have maybe set the bar on how to go about batting in the 50-over format.

England beat the Aussies by five wickets in the first ODI at the MCG on Friday as the visitors chased down a target of 305 thanks to a record-breaking innings of 180 off 151 balls by opener Jason Roy.

ALSO READ: Roy on his record-breaking knock: ‘Incredibly special’

The tourists lost two quick wickets in the pursuit of the target but never went into their shell as Roy kept attacking while Joe Root was at the end just working away as the two batsmen shared in a match-winning stand of 223.

Smith said after the game: “England’s got to be up there as one of the best teams in the world in one-day cricket at the moment.

“It just looks like the way they play is for everyone to go really hard and Joe Root is sort of the rock in the middle. He just plays good cricket and guys bat around him.

“That works for them and it’s something that we might have to think about as well. Having guys that are going really hard and having someone, it might be me, who just bats normally and then you see how you go.

“I guess when you do that, perhaps you’re going to have days where you get bowled out for not many. But you back your players to come off maybe more often than not and get those big totals. That’s what the English players are doing at the moment.

“They’re playing with such freedom and have pretty good game plans.”

Australia will look to get back into the five-match series on Friday when the second game takes place in Brisbane.

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