Leeds-born Inglis leads Australia to victory over England
Australia chase down highest Champions Trophy score to beat England in classic
ICC Champions Trophy Group B, Lahore
England 351-8 (50 overs): Duckett 165, Root 68; Dwarshuis 3-66
Australia 356-5 (47.3 overs): Inglis 120*, Carey 69; Rashid 1-47
Australia won by five wickets
Scorecard; Tables
England’s Champions Trophy bid began with a damaging defeat as Australia pulled off an epic chase of 352 to counter Ben Duckett’s 165 in Lahore.
Opener Duckett took England to 351-8 – the highest score in Champions Trophy history – only for Josh Inglis to hit a sensational 120 not out from 86 balls to complete the chase with five wickets and 15 balls to spare.
It was the highest score England have failed to defend in one-day internationals, made worse by the fact they had their old rivals 136-4 at one stage.
From there Inglis, Australia’s number five born and raised in Yorkshire, put on 146 in 116 balls with Alex Carey to drag his side back into the contest.
Carey, having been dropped on 49, was caught for 69 with 70 runs needed from 51 balls and Inglis took charge.
He flogged England for six sixes – the third bringing up his first ODI century in 77 balls and the sixth sealing the highest successful chase in a global 50-over tournament.
It compounded fears England failed to capitalise fully on being 200-2 after 30 overs on a fine batting pitch – a surface that only improved under the lights.
Jos Buttler’s England now have little room for manoeuvre in their final two group-stage fixtures, against Afghanistan on Wednesday and South Africa next Saturday, if they are to finish in the top two and reach the semi-finals.
Carey takes stunning one-handed ‘goalkeeper’s’ catch to remove England’s Salt
If England’s confidence was low given their form coming into the tournament – four series defeats in a row and losses in 10 of their past 14 ODIs – this will feel like a body blow.
Duckett batted in the responsible fashion many have asked of this side but Inglis punished them for failing to kick on to an even bigger score.
While the arrival of a dew under the lights made batting easier, England did not help themselves.
Brydon Carse was hit for 69 in seven overs, exposing England’s limited bowling options, and Jofra Archer dropped a simple catch to dismiss Carey.
At that point 104 runs were needed from 73 balls, the match still in the balance, but Archer’s error was compounded when he took the next over and was hit for consecutive fours.
The England quick also had Glenn Maxwell, who ended 32 not out from 15, caught late on only for the decision to be overturned because of a waist-high no-ball, but by that point the game was done with 11 runs needed.
England remain in Lahore for Wednesday’s match against Afghanistan, who were thrashed by South Africa on Friday. The loser will likely be eliminated.
Inglis, who scored a century on Test debut against Sri Lanka last month, lived in Yorkshire until just shy of his 15th birthday.
He took little sympathy on the country he used to call home, having come in with England well in control.
Archer dismissed Travis Head caught and bowled for two, Mark Wood nicked off Steve Smith for five and spinners Adil Rashid and Liam Livingstone dismissed Marnus Labuschagne and Matthew Short respectively after their partnership of 95.
The closest England came to dismissing Inglis was a delivery from Livingstone that squeezed between bat and pad and narrowly missed leg stump when he had 29.
He began with classy, textbook strokes but by the end was ramping the ball over third man – fellow Yorkshireman Joe Root’s trademark shot.
‘Glorious shot!’ – the best of Duckett’s century against Australia
Duckett’s knock should not be overlooked. It was England’s highest in any global 50-over event – World Cup or Champions Trophy, beating Andrew Strauss’ 158 against India in 2011.
They looked to attack in the powerplay but were 53-2 in the sixth over after Carey brilliantly caught Phil Salt diving one-handed at mid-on and took a simpler catch in the same position after a chip from England’s new number three Jamie Smith.
Afterwards Duckett put away his sweeps and limited risks. Only 31% of his shots in reaching 50 were attacking – the lowest percentage when reaching the landmark in his ODI career.
A partnership of 158 with Root, who was similarly composed and looking close to his best for his 68, built a platform and steered England from early danger.
When Root went lbw to Adam Zampa, Harry Brook sliced the leg-spinner for backward point for three and captain Jos Buttler slog swept to deep mid-wicket for 23, Duckett dug in to ensure England’s innings did not fall away.
Hitting the spinners straight and the quicks with cuts and pulls, he reached three figures in 95 balls, played his first reverse sweep on 103 and was battling cramp by the time he was dismissed lbw on the sweep by Labuschagne in the 48th over.
Afterwards Buttler said he was happy with his side’s score but, given their position of strength, they could have had even more.
‘Oh no!’ – Archer drops sitter to gift Carey half-century
Player of the match Josh Inglis: “I’m over the moon. We knew it was going to be tough coming up against England. It always is. Coming up against 350, a lot of things have to go right to chase that down.
“Really pumped on a personal level, but for the guys out there it’s a great performance. This gives us a lot of confidence in a short sharp tournament.”
England captain Jos Buttler: “Ben Duckett played brilliantly. He’s been threatening to do that for a long time. I’m delighted for him but it’s a shame it was in a losing cause.”
Australia captain Steve Smith: “At one point it looked like they were going to get 400 so pleased that we were able to limit them.
“It’s about just trusting each other’s skills. The boys did a good job and took the pace off at the right time. We’re pleased with the way we could pull it back and chase 350.”
England regain Calcutta Cup after Scotland miss last-gasp kick
Beterbiev v Bivol 2: Sheeraz needs knockout in final round against Adames – listen
Leeds-born Inglis leads Australia to victory over England
Scot Squad’s top cop dives deep into his daily duties
Can he still be the numero uno in a modern, progressive police force?
Exploring the world deep beneath our feet
Brian Cox and Robin Ince journey to the centre of the Earth with help from scientists and comedians
Catch up on the drama of the 40th anniversary live episode
Jack or Ravi? Find out who Denise chose
Adjoa Andoh explains what the natural world means to her
The actor talks to Martha Kearney about landscape, religion and the restorative power of nature
Why Guardiola’s tactics stopped working amid rise of rapid football
What to look out for in MLS this season
Lionesses have ‘lots to work on’ but Wiegman ‘not concerned’
Women’s football pioneer honoured by James painting
‘A huge amount to offer’ – why have England promoted Smith?
‘Every woman has fear’ – why risks facing female athletes remain
Sutton’s predictions v singer Bradley Simpson
Singing Adele & cracking jokes – Marler’s BBC Sport debut. Video
Singing Adele & cracking jokes – Marler’s BBC Sport debut
‘I’m not the worst’ – but is Nunez too wasteful for Liverpool?
What could Rangers expect from potential 49ers takeover?
‘I signed Barcelona deal – then had a stroke at 24’
US superfan jets in to UK for four games in 48 hours
It’s time for us to address the anti-doping system – Djokovic. Video
It’s time for us to address the anti-doping system – Djokovic
‘They shot my dad in front of me’ – African refugees eye Olympics
‘It’s out of this world’ – Everton fans get first glimpse of new stadium
The numbers behind Rashid’s white-ball genius
Le Tour to Strictly? Retiring Thomas ponders future
Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
A body blow to England
Yorkshireman Inglis’ knock for the ages
Duckett shows the way
‘Really pumped’ – what they said
Related topics
Top stories
Elsewhere on the BBC
Elsewhere in Sport
England’s excuse for losing to Australia in Champions trophy is weak
Australia produced one of the great run chases to defeat England on Sunday morning, but all the Poms could talk about was something else.
Australia produced one of the great run chases to start the Champions Trophy in sublime fashion on Sunday morning — but all England could talk about was something else.
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.
Watch the biggest Aussie sports & the best from overseas LIVE on Kayo. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer.
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.
“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.”
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.
“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.”
Our Apps
Sign Up
About Us
Help And Support
Our News Network
Our Partners
Inglis inspires Australia to record win over England despite Duckett hundred
Sign up to The Spin
