OTD| First-ever One-Day International match was played between Australia and England in 1971

Cricket has witnessed a lot of defining moments and this day is etched as one of the most defining days in the history of cricket. The first One-Day international match was played on this day in 1971 between Australia and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. 

First innings

The Australian captain Bill Lawry won the toss and put the English team to bat first. The Australian bowlers took the early advantage and dismissed the opener Geoff Boycott. Keith Fletcher and John Edrich built a small partnership from there to deny any further advantage to Australia. John Edrich continued to bat even after Fletcher’s dismissal and built a couple of more partnerships. 

The Australian bowlers made a roaring comeback after getting the wicket of John Hampshire as the Aussies completely dominated the proceedings from there. Ashley Mallett and Keith Stackpole were the two most successful bowlers for Australia in the first innings with 3 wickets each. England could only post 190 runs on the board in the first innings and ended with a lower-order collapse. John Edrich ended up with 82 runs to play a crucial role in putting a competitive total on the board. 

Second Innings

Australia’s start in the second innings was not impressive as they lost Keith Stackpole very early in the run chase. Captain Bill Lawry played a cameo of 27 runs but contributions from Ian Chappel and Doug Walters proved to be the real difference in the match. Ian Chappel scored a half-century and played a gritty knock to counter the English bowlers. 

On the other end, Dough Walters was equally impressive and these two kept the run chase on track. The duo of Greg Chappell and Rod Marsh guided the Australian team across the finishing line. Australia eventually won the match by 5 wickets and started a tradition of their glorious history in ODI cricket. 

Also read: Captain Mike Denness shockingly left himself out of England’s side for fourth Test against Australia in 1975