No sandpaper distractions as Australia thump England after debutant heroics

Detailed summary

Mahli Beardman took six wickets and Mitchell Marsh struck a rapid fifty as Australia beat England by seven wickets in Perth. The emphatic first-ODI win dragged attention back to cricket after renewed Sandpapergate allegations dominated the week.

It was a week for Australian cricket that was overshadowed by the reignition of the Sandpapergate scandal. Even on Friday, just hours before the toss for the first ODI against England, everyone in Australia was interested in the press conference from Pat Cummins and not the match itself.

Cummins slammed the allegations made by Usman Khawaja's book, calling it complete and utter nonsense. At this point, Australia needed someone to stand up and bring the attention back to cricket being played in Perth. Hometown boys Mahli Beardman and captain Mitchell Marsh took it upon themselves to ensure that everyone was talking about the cricket played by the Aussies at the end of the day.

Beardman picked up six wickets while Marsh scored a blazing fifty as Australia thumped England by seven wickets. On a surface that induced pace and bounce, Australia's wild thing showed that he was ready to step up in the absence of the experienced trio of Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood.

Beardman finished with figures of six for 24 in 7.4 overs, the best by an Australian on debut. The hosts' decision to bowl first was vindicated early on as England lost Ben Duckett early and Tom Banton soon followed back to the pavilion.

The 21-year-old pacer from Perth is considered to be a cricketer cut out from yesteryear. He is a surfer, someone who enjoys fishing and disconnects himself from the outside noise when he is off the field.

On the field, he has aimed to bowl fast and Marsh wanted an immediate impact from the pacer. Beardman's breakthrough came when he got Harry Brook to nick a delivery that initially moved towards the batter before straightening sharply off the surface. He followed it up by dismissing Joe Root, who was featuring in his 200th ODI, with another ball that found the outside edge as it moved away.

England's batting collapse showed no signs of slowing down. Jordan Cox edged behind, while Sam Curran was undone by a short-pitched delivery.

Mitchell Johnson provided excellent…

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