Australia vs England, 1st ODI - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

Series: England tour of Australia, 2018 Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne Date & Time: Jan 14, 02:20 PM LOCAL

Jason Roy scored a 151-ball 180. © Getty

That's all from us folks! Hope you enjoyed the coverage! We certainly enjoyed England's fight especially after the Ashes. Until next time then ...

Here's what the players had to say:

Morgan: Thought it was incredible from Jason. He's come off the back of a tough summer but finished it incredibly well. Really does summarize the character of the bloke. Leaving him out was a tough decision. Always knew he would be part of our plans. Our batting lineup looks pretty long. 300 these days isn't a huge total to chase down. Wasn't a huge task. It was surrounded by Jason, but no doubt, someone else would have put their hand up if not.

Jason Roy, Man of the Match: Incredibly special. Don't have too many words right now. Hales wasn't too happy about that by the sound of things. Like I said, really honoured to be selected. Been a tough season last season. Hopefully it was just a blip, fingers crossed. Didn't really know what to do in celebration to be honest, just really happy. We had good fun out there. Hand should be fine.

Smith: That was some innings from Roy. Didn't give us a chance. Chanced his arm, came off tonight. Well supported by Root as well. We were after 340-350. Weren't able to do that. And they got off to an absolute flier. Would have been nice if Finchy was in for a bit longer. These balls haven't been swinging much. You just gotta keep hitting good areas. We weren't able to do that. Patty might be having a rest (talking about Brisbane). Hazlewood might be back. That would be good.

That's that then! England canter to a five-wicket win at the MCG. This is the highest chase in an ODI as well. Roy scored a record-breaking 180 while Root stayed unbeaten on 91 to see the team through. Aaron Finch scored a dominating ton the first innings but Roy and Root were exceptional. It needed something really extraordinary to overshadow Finch and Roy came up with that. England have the early series lead.

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The Ashes is done and dusted but the rivalry between traditional foes Australia and England resumes in the 50-over format in a battle expected to be far more exciting and closely fought than the disappointingly lop-sided Test series.

Ironically, in the aftermath of such a hyped but underwhelming Ashes, the five-match One-Day International (ODI) series starting at the MCG on January 14 is set to be a relatively low-key affair and in the backdrop of the burgeoning Big Bash League and the upcoming Australian Open tennis.

Traditionally, Australians are used to England rolling out a staid and workmanlike 50-over team but things have markedly changed. These days, with the ODI format the No.1 priority for embattled coach Trevor Bayliss ahead of a home World Cup next year, England oozes with firepower particularly in the batting - even without the services of suspended superstar allrounder Ben Stokes.

Unlike their demure Ashes team, England boast of vaunted explosive depth throughout their batting order and have packed the top order with dynamic pair Jason Roy and Alex Hales to bat in the top three, meaning star batsman Joe Root will slot into the No.4 position. Jos Buttler, another heavy hitter, is set to fill the role of 'floater' but is slated to come in at No.6.

England's attack isn't as formidable but contains considerably more variety than their popgun Test arsenal led by quicks Mark Wood, Liam Plunkett and brilliant spinner Adil Rashid - the leading ODI wicket-taker of the past three years. They will prey on an unsettled Australian batting order and should feel confident of making the necessary inroads.