Mahli Beardman takes record 6-24 on ODI cricket debut as Australia thumps England

Mahli Beardman’s figures are the best by an Australian on ODI debut. | Photo Credit: RICHARD WAINWRIGHT

Mahli Beardman took six wickets to return the best figures ever by an Australian bowler on his one-day international cricket debut and Mitch Marsh plundered the England bowlers to complete a seven-wicket victory Friday in the opening game of the series.

The white-ball series was overshadowed this week by the reignition of the 2018 Sandpapergate scandal.

Less than four hours before the toss, Australia test captain Pat Cummins held a news conference in Sydney and described claims in Usman Khwaja’s autobiography released this week as “complete and utter nonsense.”

The 21-year-old Beardman did his upmost to get attention back on the field, taking his first ODI wicket with his eighth delivery and quickly rattling England’s best batters to snare 6-24 and help dismiss the visitors for 131 in under 34 overs.

AUS vs ENG 1st ODI - As it happened

Marsh belted 50 from 30 deliveries after losing opening partner Travis Head for a first-ball duck to power Australia’s start. Cooper Connolly (27), Josh Inglis (23 not out) and Matt Renshaw (26 not out) contributed as Australia reached 132-3 with 159 deliveries to spare.

The lopsided nature of the game started when Beardman dismissed skipper Harry Brook (1) in the 12th over and former skipper Joe Root (17) — playing his 200th one-day international — in the 14th.

He dismissed Jordan Cox (2) and Sam Curran (0) in his fourth over as England slumped to 58-6 at the end of the 16th. He then picked up Liam Dawson (0) in his fifth over to become the only Australian other than Tony Dodemaide — (5-21 against Sri Lanka in 1988) — to claim a five-wicket haul on ODI debut.

Beardman finished off the innings with the wicket of No. 11 Jofra Archer (11).

“It all happened very quickly,” Beardman said in a post-session TV interview. “It’s a great privilege and honor to be able to represent my country. To go out and take a few wickets as well was just cherry on top.”

Beardman’s only previous international experience was a T20 against Pakistan at Lahore in January.

The Western Australian paceman used an ideal length that he learned in the Perth conditions to elicit edges from Brook, Root and Cox as they tried to play forward, and he pulled it back to have Curren caught at fine leg from a short-pitched delivery. His fifth wicket, a fuller ball that moved away, had Dawson caught slicing to backward point.

Left-arm paceman Spencer Johnson (3-42) started the wickets tumbling when he got some extra bounce and had Ben Duckett caught at backward point in the fifth over. And he took a spectacular leaping, one-handed return catch to dismiss Jamie Overton (4) as England ended the 19th over at 65-8.

Will Jacks helped England reach triple figures with a steadying knock of 25 from 47 balls in a ninth-wicket stand with Gus Atkinson but fell to the first delivery from Johnson after a drinks break and the total slipped to 102-9.

Australia’s squad for the three ODIs and five T20s against England is missing front-line pace bowlers Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Scott Boland, who are all resting ahead of the four-test series against New Zealand and next year’s test tours to India and England.

After winning the toss and electing to bowl on Friday, Australia’s ODI captain Mitch Marsh described his lineup as a “reasonably young and inexperienced side, but lots of energy.”

Australia and England will meet again Sunday in Adelaide in the second game of the ODI series.