‘Not making excuses, but’: England responds to record-breaking loss to Aussies

Australia produced one of the great run chases to start the Champions Trophy in sublime fashion on Sunday morning — but their English rivals were quick to note a minor variable instead.

Wicketkeeper Josh Inglis smashed the equal-fastest century in the history of the tournament to guide Australia past England’s total of 8/351 with 15 balls remaining.

The five-wicket victory at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore was also the biggest run chase in the history of the tournament.

Inglis punished England’s fast-bowlers to finish with 120 from 86 balls.

England captain Jos Buttler and Ben Duckett, who smashed 165 from 143 balls, both wanted to talk about conditions, however.

Buttler was left lamenting the changing pitch conditions at the Pakistan ground as Australia’s batsmen appeared to find it easier under the lights as moisture on the wicket became a big talking point.

Buttler blamed the dew for his team’s struggles with the ball.

“A fantastic game, both sides played well, credit to Australia,” he said.

“It was a fantastic innings from Inglis. 350 is a pretty good score, but it was wet and the dew was a worry.”

It was a tough toss for England to lose and Buttler suggested it was going to be a factor right from the start.

“I probably would have batted first. It’s 50/50 whether the dew comes in or not, we’ll look to make good use of the surface,” he said after the toss.

“We’re not trying to hide anything, we’re confident in the set up. The guys seem in a good place and anytime you play Australia it’s a big event.”

Duckett also couldn’t resist highlighting the dew as a reason for his team’s defeat.

Josh Inglis of Australia celebrates his century. Photo by Sameer Ali/Getty Images.

“First of all, when a side chases down 350 you’ve got to give them credit. I think they played really well in those middle overs,” Duckett told Sky Sports.

“To be honest it felt like we were one, two wickets away from potentially winning pretty easily. I couldn’t always, while we were fielding, see the lines we were bowling, but it felt like we cut a little bit too much on that wicket.

“The one thing I spoke about was keeping the stumps in play. You only have to walk across here to see it. It did get easier. The back end of our innings it felt impossible to stand there and try and hit sixes. When Jos and Livvy (Liam Livingstone) and those guys came in. The conditions obviously changed.”

Former England cricketer turned TV commentator Ian Ward also said after the match on Sky Sports when speaking with Aussie legend Matthew Hayden: “This is no excuse. And I’m genuinely not making excuses, but you walked out to join us just a moment ago and you said it’s wet.

“Dew surely changed conditions a bit in Australia’s favour.”

Winners are grinners. Photo: Getty, AFP, Michael Steele. Asmi Quereshi.

However, it was BBC commentator Simon Mann that summed it up perfectly: “The bottom line is that it’s another defeat for England”.

The ground staff were seen driving around the outfield with a rope in an attempt to swipe some moisture off the field during Australia’ innings.

Teams typically want to bat when dew becomes a factor in matches because the wet ball is harder for bowlers to grip and control. Combined with a soft pitch it makes it even more difficult for bowlers to get the ball talking.

Hayden also said any excuses about the conditions “doesn’t get around the fact” Australia was the better team.

When asked if the dew had changed things in Australia’s favour, Hayden said on Sky: “100 per cent. And that’s right at the toss when you think back to the vision of Steve Smith at the toss saying he thinks it’s going to be dewy. It still doesn’t get around the fact though that innings (from Inglis) was something very, very special.

Australia's Josh Inglis celebrates after scoring a century. Photo by Aamir QURESHI / AFP.

“To have the bottle to remain in the game for such a long time, it takes courage and it takes belief.”

Inglis carted six sixes and eight boundaries, including the winning maximum off express fast bowler Mark Wood.

Australia were struggling at 27-2 with Travis Head (six) and skipper Steve Smith (five) falling to Jofra Archer and Wood respectively.

Matthew Short, who hit a 66-ball 63 with nine boundaries and a six, added 95 for the third wicket with Marnus Labuschagne (47 off 45 balls with five fours) but spinners Liam Livingstone and Adil Rashid dismissed both.

With Australia still needing an imposing 215 in 27.4 overs, Alex Carey and Inglis brought the chase back on track by adding an invaluable 146 for the fifth wicket.

“We thought 350 was chaseable,” said Smith.

“The two keepers (Inglis and Carey) have been batting beautifully. Josh played shots all round the ground.”

Smith joked: “I don’t know if Josh still has an English passport, but he’s not going anywhere.”