England succumbed to spin and missed their advantage but took advantage of Travis Head being dropped for six to score an unbeaten century and secure a seven-wicket win over Australia at Trent Bridge.
From 213 for two in the 33rd over, Ben Duckett's 95 off 91 balls and Will Jacks' 62 off 56 saw England slump to 315 all out without a second ball in the first of five one-day internationals. A scoreline of 350-plus was marred by the loss of nine wickets to spin and Adam Zampa's 3 for 49 in his 100th ODI was understandable, but England may rue the fact that part-time Marnus Labuschagne was on strike for the third innings.
Australia could still have scored when Head went into the air early on, but Kearse was too far from the boundary to convert a very difficult one-handed overhead chance. Australia's World Cup final hero didn't need a second invitation as he hit 20 fours and five sixes to record an ODI-best 154 not out off 129 balls, while Labuschagne contributed 77 not out in a 148-run stand with Head to guide the tourists to victory with six overs remaining.
The absence of Australia's big three fast bowlers (Pat Cummins missed the tour and Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood were unfit for the openers) meant missed opportunities for an inexperienced England side who fielded two newcomers, with Adil Rashid being the only one with 30 or more ODI appearances under his belt.
Rashid and England's other spinners failed to make as much impact as Australia, who scored a total of 190 for 9 in 30.4 overs after Duckett was promoted to the opening line-up, with Jacks laying a great foundation for Harry Brook when he won the toss on his debut as international captain.
The boundaries were short here and England had a reputation for going all-out in the first powerplay, but Duckett and Phil Salt were more cautious against the disciplined early fast bowlers. They continued to attack at roughly one-a-side pace, Duckett smashing Sean Abbott for four down the leg side in the first over and the left-hander settling in alongside Jacks after Salt was restricted to 17 by Ben Dwarshuis.
Jacks kept spinners Matthew Short and Zampa for six each before getting into the fifty with Duckett, but after an explosive first three overs that ended with 27, Zampa triumphed to end a 120-run stand between Duckett and Jacks off 101 balls, with Jacks unable to hit the fuller balls back into the infield.
Australia captain Mitch Marsh stuck to his spin and, despite his opponent Brook hitting two towering sixes over short, the decision to turn to Labuschagne proved a wise one, as he dismissed the set batsman with a return catch.
England's hopes of doubling the score at 201 for 2 in the 30th over vanished when Duckett hit a googly ball with an innocuous leading edge that seemed to stick to the surface, while Brook cast a doubtful glance at the pitch after obediently chipping it back to Labuschagne for 39 off 31 balls.
Marsh kept the carrot dangling and a boundary was in store, but Jamie Smith made 23 on his ODI debut before Liam Livingstone and Brydon Kearse caught Cameron Green bucket-handling off Zampa. Jacob Bethell guided England past 300 but his spirited play, making 35 on debut, could not disguise a flat end to the innings, even as Australia fought back with Marsh falling to Matthew Potts to Kearse early on.
The Durham pair should have had a head three balls later but Kearse was too far from deep point and missed an overhead chance that would have been much easier to score if he had stayed on the boundary.
After newsletter promotion
Head was beaten by a beautiful delivery from Jofra Archer in his first ODI in 18 months but he hit two fours in that over and an impressive six in the next to put England in a stunned state.
Steve Smith was booed as soon as he stepped up to bat but top-edged Archer for six in the first meeting between the two sides since the Ashes in 2019. Smith smashed three sixes in total before being run out for 32 after being caught by Liam Livingstone.
England's trump card, Adil Rashid, bowled two clean overs but was run out by Head at long-on. Head also shut out Livingstone, as Australia's openers continued their good form from the drawn T20 series. Rashid reached 100 in 92 balls but it wasn't the end, as he hit four fours in the first over off Kearse and hit Livingstone for a straight six to reach 150.
Labuschagne proved to be a useful foil, smashing through the Jacks at point for his seventh walk and two sixes to secure the win.
