Rashid restricts Australian batsmen in first ODI... PLAYER RATINGS

England began their five-match ODI series against Australia with a three-wicket victory at The Oval. The Cricketer assesses the individual performances of the two sets of players

England began their five-match ODI series against Australia with a three-wicket victory at The Oval.

The Cricketer rates the performances of both sets of players...

ENGLAND

Jonny Bairstow (28): A man with three ODI tons on the bounce and evidently in superb knick. Opened up with some stand-and-deliver, dismissive stuff. Absolutely hammered of a pull off Richardson but picked out Head in the deep. 6

Jason Roy (0): A two-ball duck for Roy on Surrey soil. Big Billy Stanlake was through him with pace and saw middle and off split via an inside edge. 3

Alex Hales (5): Hit full on the back leg as the Notts batsman looked to play through the leg side. 3

Joe Root (0-20 & 50): Just as England looked like they were going to make this a close-run thing, Root stepped in a settled their nerves. Couldn't see it through to the end but went a long way to getting the job done. 8

Eoin Morgan (69): A 36th ODI fifty for the captain who put on 115 runs with Root. 8.5

Jos Buttler (9): A quiet day for Jos. Did his job with the gloves and had brief cameo with the bat. Put down by Paine then picked out Kane Richardson at mid-on in the following over. 4

Moeen Ali (3-43 & 17): Went for more than his spin partner but struck twice early in his spell to put Australia on the back foot. Flighted one against Finch who skewed to backward point. Bowled Marsh soon after and then was gifted another by Tim Paine. Caught in the deep trying to see England home. 8

David Willey (1-41 & 35*): Struck early to remove Travis Head and found a bit of movement. Hit his highest ODI score to get England over the line as others fell around him. 7

Liam Plunkett (3-42 & 3*): Took the wicket of Maxwell and helped clean up the tail. Most expensive of England’s seamers. 7

Adil Rashid (2-36): Conceded his first - and only - boundary in his ninth over. Alongside Moeen, Rashid is going to be crucial to England’s World Cup hopes. Googly did for Stoinis and trapped Agar, who was Australia’s last real pillar of resistance. 8.5

Mark Wood (1-32): Didn’t go for too many, picked up just the one wicket of Richardson late in the innings. 6.5

^{Big Billy Style: Stanlake was a threat with the ball}

AUSTRALIA

Aaron Finch (19): Finch - a battleship of a man - looked dangerous early on with authoritative drives but went to a poor stroke against Moeen. 5

Travis Head (5): Positive from ball one but a loose swipe saw him caught by Bairstow at first slip off the bowling of Willey. 4

Shaun Marsh (24): Boundaries were flowing for Marsh but - like Finch - he fell just as it looked like he had got himself in. 5

Marcus Stoinis (22): Repeat. There’s a lot of talent in this team but some of the shot selections were questionable so early in the game. A wild attempt at a cut against Rashid’s googly his demise. 5

Tim Paine (12): Repeat. The skipper needed to anchor the innings with the top-order failing. Instead he decided to produce a tremendously-poor attempt at a reverse sweep and sent a tame catch to Wood at short third man. 4

Glenn Maxwell (62 & 0-9): Played a decent hand but Australia needed him to hang around for a while longer… 7.5

Ashton Agar (40 & 0-28): Showed real quality with the bat, adding 84 with Maxwell. His five overs were a little expensive. 7

Michael Neser (6 & 2-46): Showed some skill on his international debut. Produced a beauty beating the edge of Joe Root’s bat first up. Trapped Hales to pick up his maiden ODI wicket. 6.5

Andrew Tye (19 & 2-42): Broke the partnership of Morgan and Root and then dismissed Buttler with a slower ball to give Australia some hope. 6.5

Kane Richardson (1 & 1-49): Bairstow handed his wicket over by not being able to resist the pull. 6

Billy Stanlake (0* & 2-44): A bowler at seven feet tall is always going to have the potential to cause problems and Stanlake did just that. The ball that got Roy was quick and nipped back in while Root was drawn into an edge as England’s chase wobbled. 8