Aaron Finch fired an aggressive century in his World Cup debut to guide Australia through an early collapse and toward a big total of 342-9 in its opening Pool A match against England on Saturday.
Finch made 135 off 128 balls in front of an appreciative crowd of around 90,000 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground after Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes made early inroads against Australia’s top-order.
The hosts were sent in to bat and were in trouble at 70-3 when captain George Bailey joined Finch in sharing a 146-run fourth-wicket partnership.
Glenn Maxwell smashed a 66 with 11 boundaries, while Brad Haddin had 31 off 14.
Steven Finn completed a five-wicket haul with a hat trick off the last three balls.