Home side never in trouble as their bowlers take control in tournament opener.
England has struck an early psychological blow ahead of the Ashes after they cruised to victory in their Champions Trophy opener against Australia, winning by 48 runs at Birmingham.
The hosts would have been worried early in the match after an at times sluggish effort with the bat saw them finish around 20 runs short of their target in good batting conditions.
As a result they set the Australians 270 for victory which was achievable if their top-order found their form again.
David Warner could only add nine before he was caught behind off the bowling of Stuart Broad with the score on just 17.
Shane Watson was dropped by Alistair Cook in a tough chance as the ball flew between himself and ‘keeper to continue the shaky start for the Australians.
The Australian opener then nearly ran himself out the next ball when he hesitated twice in trying to take a quick single, but he was soon on his way back to the change-rooms for 24 off the bowling of Tim Bresnan.
Phil Hughes and captain George Bailey then put on a partnership of 47, but it never got out of hand for England, as they continued to tighten their grip on the match.
A mini collapse through the Australian middle-order saw them lose 42-4 as they plunged to be 136-6 with the run-rate required creeping up all of the time.
Jimmy Anderson was excellent for the Three Lions in his second spell as was a big reason for the home side’s dominance in the middle overs, as he finished with figures of 3-30 off his 10.
When Baily departed for 55 so did Australia’s biggest chance of salvaging the game as James Faulkner played a cameo at the end to finish on 54 not out.
But the away side’s tail failed to wag as the English clinically ripped through to ensure there was never any doubt in the result.
Apart from Anderson, the entire English attack did their job with wickets shared around, with even Ravi Bopara and Joe Root getting in on the act.
Australia will be desperately hoping injured skipper Michael Clarke will be cleared to play as their top-order needs him, when they take on New Zealand on Wednesday again at Birmingham.
England will try and carry the momentum earned with the win when they tackle Sri Lanka at Kennington Oval.
Champions Trophy
England v Australia
Toss won by England
England Innings
A. Cook c Wade b Watson 30
I. Bell b Faulkner 91
J. Trott c Wade b Starc 43
J. Root c Bailey b McKay 12
E. Morgan b McKay 8
R. Bopara not out 46
J. Buttler b Faulkner 1
T. Bresnan not out 19
Extras (lb12, w6, nb1) 19
Total (6 wkts, 50 overs) 269
Fall of wickets: 1-57 (Cook), 2-168 (Trott), 3-189 (Bell), 4-189 (Root), 5-212 (Morgan), 6-213 (Buttler)
Did not bat: S Broad, J Tredwell, J Anderson
Bowling: Starc 10-0-75-1 (1nb, 1w); Johnson 8-0-44-0 (1w); McKay 10-0-38-2 (1w); Watson 7-0-26-1; Faulkner 10-0-48-2 (1w); Voges 3-0-13-0; Marsh 2-0-13-0 (2w)
Australia Innings
D.Warner c Buttler b Broad 9
S. Watson c Cook b Bresnan 24
P. Hughes lbw b Root 30
G. Bailey c Root b Tredwell 55
A. Voges b Bresnan 15
M. Marsh c Morgan b Anderson 5
M. Wade c Buttler b Anderson 1
J. Faulkner not out 54
M. Johnson c Morgan b Bopara 8
M. Starc b Anderson 5
C. McKay not out 7
Extras (lb6, w1, nb1) 8
Total (9 wkts, 50 overs) 221
Fall of wickets: 1-17 (Warner), 2-47 (Watson), 3-94 (Hughes), 4-127 (Voges), 5-134 (Marsh), 6-136 (Wade), 7-151 (Bailey), 8-175 (Johnson), 9-190 (Starc)
Bowling: Anderson 10-0-30-3; Broad 10-2-35-1; Bresnan 10-1-45-2 (1nb, 1w); Tredwell 10-1-51-1; Root 5-0-20-1; Bopara 5-0-34-1
Result: England won by 48 runs
Man-of-the-match: Ian Bell (ENG)
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