Bopara unable to rescue England in Hobart
Ravi Bopara smashed a record T20 half century by an England player, but it was too little too later and England lost the first T20 against Australia by 13 runs in Hobart on Wednesday.
Ravi Bopara smashed a record T20 half century by an England player, but it was too little too later and England lost the first T20 against Australia by 13 runs in Hobart on Wednesday.
Australia had scored 213 for four in their innings, with Cameron White's 75 and Aaron Finch's 52 setting the tone for a challenging target. The England top order failed to fire, leaving too much for Bopara to do as they made 200 for nine.
The hosts won the toss and chose to bat first at the Blundstone Arena, and the openers put on a century stand in the first 10 overs, raining sixes into the construction site net to the square leg boundary.
England's bowlers seemingly had no answers to White and Finch, and they brought up their half tons off 32 and 26 balls respectively. The partnership was eventually broken when Finch skied one to Alex Hales at long on off Stuart Broad.
White then raced to 75 alongside Glenn Mawell, before the Domestic Player of the Year fell to Luke Wright, trapped LBW. He'd struck four sixes and six fours, departing with his side on 134 in the 14th over.
Maxwell hit some audacious shots on his way to 20, including a reverse sweep for six, but he was out to Bopara, caught by Tim Bresnan. George Bailey followed soon after, having made 14, to Jade Dernbach.
Debutant batsman Chris Lynn made sure the score passed 200 with a nifty 33 not out off 19 balls, hitting three sixes. Dan Christina was on six not out when they ran out of deliveries.
England's chase got off to a poor start as Alex Hales and Michael Lumb put on just 14 before Lumb departed for nine. He was removed by Nathan Coulter-Nile, who ended up taking four wickets.
Wright was also out for nine, while Eoin Morgan was bowled by Maxwell for four. Hales ended up making 22 before being trapped in front by Moises Henriques, who had also removed Wright.
The middle and lower order were left with it all to do, as Jos Buttler managed to make 20 off 14 balls, while Joe Root reached 32 off 24. But it was Bopara who tried his darndest, hitting his 50 off a new record 23 balls.
The final over saw Bopara smash Josh Hazelwood for three sixes, but it was all for his personal records only as his seven sixes went to waste. The second T20 will be played in Melbourne on the 31st.
Australia: Aaron Finch, Cameron White, Glenn Maxwell, George Bailey, Chris Lynn, Dan Christian, Moises Henriques, Matthew Wade, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Josh Hazlewood, James Muirhead
England: Michael Lumb, Alex Hales, Luke Wright, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Jade Dernbach, Danny Briggs
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