Travis Head made a valuable 59 and leg-spinner Adam Zampa took two cheap wickets as Australia beat England by 28 runs in the first Twenty20 international at Southampton Wednesday.
Opening batsman Head's quickfire innings was the cornerstone of Australia's seemingly below-par 179 all out.
But with Zampa taking an economical 2/20 in a match where England's slow bowlers also impressed, it was more than enough as the hosts were dismissed for 151 to leave Australia 1-0 up in a three-match series.
"It was a nice start," said player-of-the-match Head at the presentation ceremony, adding: "For me it was about using the pace well which I think I did."
Stand-in England captain Phil Salt, leading the team in place of the injured Jos Buttler, said: "Everything was good (about captaincy) apart from the result."
Turning to Head's 23-ball innings, that featured eight fours and four sixes, Salt said: "When the ball starts flying like that it is all about how to shut him down.
"Maybe we could have done a bit better but it has given something to get clarity on in the next game."
Australia captain Mitchell Marsh praised Head and opening partner Matthew Short for their "exciting" start before also lauding Zampa and experienced fast bowler Josh Hazlewood.
"We're lucky to have guys like Zampa and Hazlewood in our team, especially for some of our younger guys to learn from," he said.
"I went back to them and they both applied the pressure when needed." One downside for Australia was that paceman Xavier Bartlett left the field before completing his four overs, with Marsh saying: "I think he's hurt his thigh.
"It's always disappointing to see a young fellow go down but hopefully it's not too bad."
