BIRMINGHAM — England landed an early psychological blow on defending champion Australia ahead of the Ashes series, beating its fierce rival by 48 runs in their opening match of the Champions Trophy Saturday. Opener Ian Bell hit a patient 91 to help steer England to 269-6, a target that appeared competitive but very reachable on a benign strip under blue, sunny skies at Edgbaston. It proved too much for an out-of-form Australia, though, as the tourists could make only 221-9 with half-centuries from stand-in captain George Bailey and James Faulkner. The Australians are already up against it in Group A, which also contains Sri Lanka and New Zealand. James Anderson claimed three victims to become England's leading wicket-taker in ODIs with 237, taking sole possession of the record he previously shared with Darren Gough. He was well backed up by tight bowling from his teammates, particularly Stuart Broad (1-35) and spinners James Tredwell and Joe Root who strangled Australia mid-innings. These are worrying times for Australia, which was bowled out for just 65 to lose a warmup match against India by 243 runs and was without captain and talisman Michael Clarke because of a nagging lower back injury. Winning the Champions Trophy for a third straight time looks well beyond them but England, which has never won a 50-over ICC competition, must be an outside bet on home soil. This was the first of a minimum 26 matches across all formats between the old foes over the next nine months, with back-to-back test series really starting to whet the appetite. That gave this contest some added bite — if it was ever needed — with both teams looking to lay down a marker. England did just that, despite appearing to botch an opportunity to put a total of more than 300 on the board. The hosts failed to kick on from a promising start given to them by a second-wicket stand of 111 between Bell and Jonathan Trott. Trott's departure for 43 heralded a mid-innings collapse, with Root (12), Eoin Morgan (8) and Jos Buttler (1) going cheaply. Bell also departed in that mini-meltdown — clean bowled by Faulkner with a fourth ODI century in sight — after a patient 115-ball knock that contained seven fours. Suddenly England was 213-6, having been 168-1, and with no momentum. Ravi Bopara (46 not out) and Tim Bresnan (19 not out) provided some flourishes in a belated rally — the one and only six of the innings came from Bopara in the penultimate over — but there was a fear England had wasted a great opportunity. That didn't prove to be the case. Australia's reply never really got going, losing wickets at regular intervals. — AP Scorecard England A. Cook c Wade b Watson 30 I. Bell b Faulkner 91 J. Trott c Wade b Starc 43 J. Root c Bailey b McKay 12 E. Morgan b McKay 08 R. Bopara not out 46 J. Buttler b Faulkner 01 T. Bresnan not out 19 Extras (lb12, w6, nb1) 19 Total (6 wkts, 50 overs) 269 Falls: 1-57 (Cook), 2-168 (Trott), 3-189 (Bell), 4-189 (Root), 5-212 (Morgan), 6-213 (Buttler). Did not bat: S. Broad, J. Tredwell, J. Anderson. Bowling: Starc 10-0-75-1 (1nb, 1w); Johnson 8-0-44-0 (1w); McKay 10-0-38-2 (1w); Watson 7-0-26-1; Faulkner 10-0-48-2 (1w); Voges 3-0-13-0; Marsh 2-0-13-0 (2w). Australia D.Warner c Buttler b Broad 09 S. Watson c Cook b Bresnan 24 P. Hughes lbw b Root 30 G. Bailey c Root b Tredwell 55 A. Voges b Bresnan 15 M. Marsh c Morgan b Anderson 05 M. Wade c Buttler b Anderson 01 J. Faulkner not out 54 M. Johnson c Morgan b Bopara 08 M. Starc b Anderson 05 C. McKay not out 07 Extras (lb6, w1, nb1) 08 Total (9 wkts, 50 overs) 221 Falls: 1-17 (Warner), 2-47 (Watson), 3-94 (Hughes), 4-127 (Voges), 5-134 (Marsh), 6-136 (Wade), 7-151 (Bailey), 8-175 (Johnson), 9-190 (Starc). Bowling: Anderson 10-0-30-3; Broad 10-2-35-1; Bresnan 10-1-45-2 (1nb, 1w); Tredwell 10-1-51-1; Root 5-0-20-1; Bopara 5-0-34-1. Man-of-the-Match: Ian Bell.
