Blog - Inglis hits 120 not out as Australia overcome England in Lahore

Ben Duckett provided the ruthlessness England so desperately craved with a record knock of 165. But his heroics went in vain as Josh Inglis countered by pummelling a lacklustre England pace attack and powering Australia to the highest successful chase in ICC tournament history, Tristan Lavalette writes.

The first match at an ICC event in Lahore since March 1996 saw batting completely dominate this Champions Trophy blockbuster with little margin for error for the bowlers on such a benign surface.

With a mixture of inventive strokes and meaty back foot blows, Leeds-born Inglis hit his maiden ODI century to finish unbeaten on 120 from 86 balls as Australia reached the target of 352 with relative ease in the 48th over.

England's bowlers struggled to handle the dew under lights, with Australia achieving their second highest successful ODI chase after their 359 for 6 against India in Mohali in 2019. It was a bitter disappointment for England, who now face must win games against Afghanistan and South Africa.

For all the talk about England's bowling depth, and their reliance on Liam Livingstone and Joe Root to fill their fifth-bowler quota, their fast bowlers were absolutely hammered - as they were for much of their recent tour to India. Conditions were really tough - a flat pitch, short boundaries and dew taking effect - but there have to be questions asked about the sense in picking three right-arm quicks who all rely on pace more than subtlety.

"Over the moon. Great win. 350, a lot of things have got to go right to chase that down. Really pumped on a personal level and for the guys out there. It was a great performance.

"We'd done a lot of talking before the game. We knew that the second half here was going to be tough with all the dew, and the wicket skidded on nicely. It was always going to be better batting second.

"[Carey] doesn't really say anything when he bats! I was just trying not to look at the scoreboard too much. We knew with Maxi still in the sheds, if we could get him into the last 10 overs, we'd always be a chance.

"I was just trying to tick over with the spin and be really proactive. We knew at the back end that it would skid on nicely. It's a short, sharp tournament so to go one from one is really important."

All over! Inglis crunches Mark Wood over a sprawling Joe Root at deep midwicket for six, and Australia have cruised home with 15 balls to spare and five wickets in hand, chasing 352.

That run chase will feature prominently in the records:

• Australia's second-highest successful chase in men's ODIs.
• The highest successful chase in all ICC men's ODI tournaments.
• The highest successful chase in a men's ODI in Lahore.
• The highest successful chase against England in men's ODIs.

Glenn Maxwell picks out the man in the deep off a high full toss from Jofra Archer... but it's too high. A lengthy, slightly farcical delay ensues while the standing umpires work out who should be on strike for the free hit. The answer is Maxwell, who sits deep in his crease, stays leg-side, and crunches a half-volley back over the bowler's head for six! Australia are closing in.

What a way to get there! Back-to-back sixes off Brydon Carse in the 44th over - pulled over square leg, reverse-scooped over third - to reach 96, and then another leg-side monster off Jofra Archer to reach his maiden ODI hundred. His third international century, one in each format. The fifth Australian to achieve that after Watson, Maxwell, Warner and Mooney.

Born and raised in Leeds, and breaking England's hearts. This has been a phenomenal innings, and Australia's requirement is just 34 off the last 30 balls.

England are going to target Glenn Maxwell with their quicks, but he is up to the challenge. He reads the bluff as Mark Wood goes full outside off, having set the field for short stuff, and then hammers another half-volley over mid-on to finish the over. 57 more needed off 42 balls.

It's not been Brydon Carse's night, and he concedes 10 runs from the first three balls of his sixth over - including a top edge which leaves him smiling in disbelief. But he finally gets on the board, with Carey miscuing to mid-off as he looks to go over the top. Enter Maxwell. Game on?

Adil Rashid's spell is done. 1 for 45 from his 10 overs. Australia still need 87 off the last 10, and with an extra fielder out of the ring, that might not be straightforward. But England desperately need a wicket soon - and even then, know that it'll be Glenn Maxwell in at No. 7.

That is a huge moment. Rashid is into his ninth over and drops one short, which Carey drags leg-side. He couldn't have picked out Jofra Archer at deep midwicket better if he'd tried, but the ball pops straight out of his hands.

Archer is in such a state of disbelief that he allows them to come back for a second run, and Carey can celebrate his half-century just to rub it in.

Jofra Archer is back into the attack but Josh Inglis has his number. He crunches two boundaries in the over, with Archer going to slower balls but finding no grip whatsoever with the dew starting to take effect.

Suddenly, the fifth-wicket stand is worth 98 and the equation - 118 off 90 balls - looks very manageable. Buttler is going for it, with Adil Rashid back into the attack.

After 35 overs:
England were 224 for 4.
Australia are 234 for 4.

It's nearly five years ago that Alex Carey hit an excellent hundred against England in Manchester to lead Australia home in a steep run chase, with Glenn Maxwell also hitting a ton. Are we about to see something similar?

England suddenly look very short on options with the ball as the players take drinks. Carse is down on pace in his comeback over and his figures are 0 for 46 after five, while Jofra Archer has been on and off the field. Buttler has got through his notional fifth bowler quota between Livingstone and Root, but they might well be required to bowl a fair few more.

The big question is when to bring Adil Rashid back. He has four overs left which could define the outcome of this game. Buttler will be wary that Inglis and Carey could just choose to knock him about if he brings him back too soon. But this partnership is suddenly worth 76 off 58 balls, and Australia are cruising.

Jos Buttler and England fans will breathe a big sigh of relief: Archer is back on the field after that scare.

Jamie Overton is on as a sub fielder for England and Jofra Archer looks to be struggling. He's having some treatment from the physio on the boundary edge, which will be a major concern for Jos Buttler. We'll bring you an update on that as soon as we get it.

In the next over, Archer is seen walking back down to the dugout with the physio after some attention in the dressing room. He's taking some fluids on board.

This still looks like a great pitch for batting, and Australia's two keepers - Josh Inglis and Alex Carey - aren't going to waste time rebuilding. Inglis manages 15 runs off the 27th over one way or another, including four byes when he was done in the flight, and the required rate is still below eight an over. It's all about how these two can set the game up for Maxwell at the end.

Another huge wicket for England. Two set batters gone in the space of 19 balls. There were plenty of concerns about how they would manage their overs with Livingstone as their fifth bowler, but he's done a great job so far. Nothing loose, bowling to his field, and figures of 1 for 15 after 20 balls thanks to a good return catch off Matt Short.

Marnus Labuschagne throws his head back in frustration. He's fallen right into the trap. Adil Rashid, England's best bowler in this format over the past decade, has been varying his pace and lobs this legbreak up at just 43.8mph/70.5kph, trying to tempt Labuschagne into an attacking shot after three overs of strike rotation. He goes hard at it, but picks out Jos Buttler at short extra cover. The end of a 95-run stand.

After 20 overs:
England were 132 for 2.
Australia are 129 for 3.

Matt Short has a patchy ODI record but is delivering when Australia need him at his first ICC world event. "He didn't fight the pace; he used it, beautifully," says Aaron Finch on commentary, over a package of his shots against the quicks. Short races to only his third international half-century, and Australia are in control right now. England still need to find 10 overs from their fifth bowler, which will be a combination of Livingstone and Root.

Australia aren't going down without a fight here, with Marnus Labuschagne striking at 150 early in his innings and taking 14 runs from a loose Brydon Carse over. The big challenge will be whether they can negotiate 10 overs of legspin from Adil Rashid without too much damage.

Ben Duckett is having a great night. He could have been forgiven for putting his feet up briefly at the start of Australia's innings after batting through until the 48th over for his 165, but instead finds himself at slip and takes a sharp catch to dismiss Australia's stand-in captain, Steve Smith.

Mark Wood has been bowling some serious heat, and looks so much more threatening when he's given the new ball than when he's asked to come on as first-change. If England can get one more in the Powerplay, they'll be miles ahead of the game.

That's the wicket England wanted. Travis Head has caused them plenty of problems over the last three-and-a-half years across formats, but Jofra Archer strikes early to have him caught and bowled, miscuing back to him. Head has got the better of Archer in their previous ODI meetings - he'd scored 46 off 34 balls off Archer in their previous two battles - but it's the England man who comes out on top tonight in Lahore.

It briefly looked as though Archer had done himself some damage while taking that catch, but he looks like he'll be fine. He suffered a cut on his hand at one point in England's recent tour of India, which might by why that one stung.

Australia will need 352 to beat England in Lahore. If you’re just joining us at the interval, here’s what you missed in the first innings:

No sign of Spencer Johnson at the death for Australia, with Steve Smith going back to Marnus Labuschagne for the 48th over. His drag-down gets the wicket Australia have been chasing for three-and-a-half hours, sliding past Duckett's tired sweep and trapping him lbw.

Duckett gets a good ovation from the crowd on his way off. His 165 is England's fifth-highest individual score in men's ODIs, and their highest at an ICC event.

Danyal Rasool at Gaddafi Stadium: He got the wicket of Jos Buttler, caught in the deep, but it's interesting that Australia were so keen to persist almost exclusively with Glenn Maxwell as the fifth bowler despite getting plenty of tap. Surprised that Travis Head, for example, hasn't bowled at all.

England are 268 for 4 with 10 overs left. They really should be looking at 350-plus with Duckett set, Buttler at the crease, Livingstone in next and some part-time spin still to get through for Australia.

Free runs for England at the end of the 37th over. Zampa oversteps when bowling what should be the last ball of the over to Jos Buttler - a full toss, knocked down to long-off for one - and Ben Duckett launches the free hit over long-on's head. 234 for 4 becomes 241 for 4, and England are eyeing a big finish. Still three overs to find for Smith between his part-time spinners.

Harry Brook comes and goes quickly on his 26th birthday, miscuing to backward point where Alex Carey takes his third catch of the day - and his second very good one. Zampa has been very good for Australia, only conceding four boundaries in his first eight overs and dismissing Root and Brook.

Ben Duckett punches the air, and gets a hug from Harry Brook. Back-to-back boundaries off Spencer Johnson to bring up three figures, as he reaches his third ODI hundred and his second against Australia. He's been criticised in recent times for failing to convert his starts but he now has an exceptional record since coming back into the 50-over set-up in September, with two centuries among his five 50-plus scores in his last nine ODI innings.

Duckett has been particularly strong down the ground today - an area of his game that he is not necessarily renowned for, but one he has worked hard on - and has the opportunity to go on and make a really massive score now, with 18 overs left in the innings.

It's a very tight lbw call, but Root has to walk off after battling hard for 68 off 78 balls. He was struck on the front pad while down low to sweep and this looked to be sliding down the leg side to the naked eye. But Ahsan Raza gave him out on-field, and ball-tracking projected that the ball would have skimmed leg stump - enough to uphold the initial decision. That's the end of a 158-run stand.

Duckett and Root's partnership is ticking towards 140 and one of the keys has been their ability to rotate strike. Danyal Rasool, our man in Lahore, tells me that England have faced by far the fewest dots at this stage of an innings of any team in the Champions Trophy so far, with both batters happy to tick over and punch singles to the four sweepers. Could Steve Smith have been more attacking with his fielding positions, bringing in a short cover or short midwicket to try and stem the flow?

England are 166 for 2 after 25 overs in Lahore - almost exactly the same score as they were against Australia at Trent Bridge five months ago.

That night, they collapsed to Australia's part-time spinners to be bowled out for 315, and Travis Head hit a brilliant 154 not out to lead his side home with seven wickets in hand. England need to be ruthless today on a very good batting pitch, and will be looking for 350-plus with Duckett and Root both set and Brook, Buttler and Livingstone still to come.

Duckett brings up his 50 in his first innings at an ICC world event. He was an unused squad member at the T20 World Cup last year, and this is his first involvement at a major 50-over tournament.

Both teams have opted for a similar, batting-heavy balance in this game. England and Australia are each fielding three frontline quicks and a gun legspinner, and will therefore rely on back-up spinners to share 10 overs between them: Root and Livingstone in England's case, and Maxwell, Head, Short and Labuschagne for Australia.

One of the keys to the outcome could be which captain manages their resources better with the ball. Steve Smith has brought Maxwell into the attack early but his first two overs have cost 18 runs, including a charging straight six from Duckett in an 11-run second over. One to keep an eye on as this game develops.

Danyal Rasool at Gaddafi Stadium: This is supposed to be the best attended non-Pakistan game of the tournament, though it’s not quite hit that level yet. The crowd has been trickling in over the past couple of hours in this first Champions Trophy match at the rebuilt Gaddafi Stadium. It’s very hot this afternoon, and there wasn’t enough time before this tournament to cover the stands, so the sun’s blazing down onto the seats with little shade to be found.

That has potentially kept some people away for now, but the evenings in February cool down markedly, so expect this crowd to keep building up over the innings, and eventually reach the sell-out status it was officially been billed as.

The cricket, too, hasn’t exactly been superb so far; Australia’s bowlers have sprayed it about somewhat, but England have been generous. Two soft dismissals have brought Joe Root to the crease in the Powerplay, something England ideally wanted to avoid, with a superb one-handed catch from Carey the standout moment of the contest.

England's plan to reshuffle their batting line-up hasn't worked. Jamie Smith played a couple of gorgeous shots at No. 3 but his dismissal is fairly ugly, a leg-side pick-up straight to Carey at mid-on for a straightforward chance this time. This shot was neither one thing nor the other: Smith looked as though he was trying to hit this hard, up and over the leg-side ring, but didn't get enough elevation and couldn't have picked out mid-on better if he'd tried.

That means Joe Root is walking out to bat in the sixth over, despite him shuffling back down to No. 4 as part of this new-look batting order.

How's the hang time on that? Phil Salt gets an inswinging half-volley from Ben Dwarshuis which he looks to flick over the infield on the leg side, but Carey runs to his right at mid-on, flings himself back over his shoulder, and grabs hold of an absolute ripper. That's his first-ever catch as an outfielder in ODIs.

Steven Smith: "It looks a pretty good surface. There was a bit of dew coming in when we were training, so we'd like to chase later on." Smith confirms two left-arm seamers in Ben Dwarshuis and Spencer Johnson - "a bit of a match-up thing" - with Sean Abbott and Aaron Hardie missing out.

Jos Buttler says he is "a bit 50/50" on whether the dew will come in, and said he would probably have chosen to bat. "We're really excited. The guys seem in a really good place," Buttler says. He is hoping for big runs from what he describes as a "really dynamic top three" comprising Phil Salt, Ben Duckett and Jamie Smith.

England: 1 Phil Salt, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Jamie Smith (wk), 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Jos Buttler (capt), 7 Liam Livingstone, 8 Brydon Carse, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Mark Wood.

Australia: 1 Matt Short, 2 Travis Head, 3 Steve Smith (capt), 4 Marnus Labuschagne, 5 Josh Inglis (wk), 6 Alex Carey, 7 Glenn Maxwell, 8 Ben Dwarshuis, 9 Nathan Ellis, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Spencer Johnson.

World cricket's most luscious locks are gone. Spencer Johnson has gone for the buzzcut ahead of his first appearance at a major international event, administered by Adam Zampa, getting rid of his trademark, thick blonde mane. "Strictly business," was how he described it to Australia's Instagram account. "Zorba [Adam Zampa] had an attempt at it. It didn't quite work out, so then I had to go to the barber to fix it up."

In the finest tradition of England's white-ball cricket (with 2015-22 increasingly looking like an outlier), they have announced a major change to their batting line-up shortly before a major tournament. Jamie Smith will bat at No. 3 for the first time in his international career - and only the second time in all List A cricket - while the engine room of Joe Root, Harry Brook and Jos Buttler is shifting down from No.3-5 to No.4-6.

Nick Knight is part of ESPNcricinfo's punditry team for this tournament and isn't much of a fan of this move - and also feels that England's attack looks light, with Root and Liam Livingstone set to split 10 overs between them. Knight, older readers will remember, was the fall guy for another last-minute England panic on the eve of the 1999 World Cup, when he was dropped for Nasser Hussain despite a far superior ODI record. What do you make of it?

England XI: 1 Phil Salt, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Jamie Smith (wk), 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Jos Buttler (capt), 7 Liam Livingstone, 8 Brydon Carse, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Mark Wood.