Jason Roy hits England's highest ever ODI score as 180 inspires five-wicket victory over Australia

Australia 304-8, England 308-5: Joe Root guides England home with an unbeaten 91 but Roy's fantastic innings got the tourists off to the perfect start at the MCG

Jason Roy scored 180 as England won the opening ODI against Australia by five wickets (Getty)

Many of the missing elements of England’s doomed Ashes campaign burst into life at the MCG in a record-breaking victory over Australia to kick off the five-match one-day series.

Bat-jarring pace, mystery spin and innings of true batting substance all combined to deliver a hugely impressive result for England. It also gave a much-needed emotional lift to those Test players, like captain Joe Root, who have been relentlessly ground down by their ruthless opponents these past couple of months.

Jason Roy had a chance to make England’s highest individual one-day score in 2016 at The Oval and when he fell five runs short of matching Robin Smith’s record of 167, he admitted he wasn’t aware of the stat.

Ignorance would have been no defence this time around since Alex Hales’ benchmark of 171 was set only a couple of months after Roy’s 162. Hales, returning to the side after missing two Stokes-related one-dayers in September, made only four but hopefully he can have taken pleasure in his one-time opening partner’s feast.

Records rattled around the cavernous MCG – shame there were only about 37,171 here to witness this most one-sided of victories. That’s less than half who came for the Boxing Day Test and at least 10,000 below a recent T20 Big Bash crowd. The locals were already sneaking out when it was announced that the train service was up the spout. There was a mass exodus after that unwanted titbit of information.

Roy fires the ball into the sky off Mitchell Starc to finally lose his wicket (Getty)

Jason Roy salutes the crowd as he leaves the field having scored 180 (Getty)

Roy’s 180 was also the highest ODI score at the MCG, his stand of 221 with Root was England’s highest for the third wicket in ODIs and England’s pursuit was the highest successful chase at the ground.

His gung-ho attitude is well known and chimes with England’s white-ball policy but his innings was impressive, both because he saw the job through but also because of his shoddy recent form for Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash where his top score was 21 in six innings.

Pat Cummins took three wickets for Australia but it proved in vain (Getty)

He had some luck. Top edges and mis-timed shots fell safely. On 91, he successfully over-turned an lbw decision against leg-spinner Adam Zampa. Next ball, he launched a six just over the head of Aaron Finch at long on. That’s the way he – and the team – play.

The loss of Jonny Bairstow and Hales in quick succession could have led to a careless collapse and Root’s contribution (91 not out) should not be under-estimated.

Joe Root scored 91 not-out to carry England to victory (Getty)

It is too simplistic, of course, to wonder what might have been. But to see the bowlers, Mark Wood, Liam Plunkett and Adil Rashid – none of whom were part of the Ashes squad – all contribute vitally in their different ways was as galling as it was encouraging. “It’s just got a lot more aggressive intent,” said Michael Clarke, the former Australia captain on TV, of England’s one-day squad, compared to their tepid Ashes equivalents.

Finch, who made a superb but ultimately futile century, said he was expecting Wood’s pace but knowing it’s coming is one thing. Dealing with it is another and the opener, who looked in great touch from the off, was regularly hurried by short stuff from Wood. As was Finch’s opening partner, David Warner, who fell to a snorter in the second over that he could only glove to Joe Root in the slips.

Aaron Finch celebrates reaching his century for Australia (Getty)

Wood regularly pushed 90mph and it was something of a shock to learn that he was only England’s second fastest bowler of this pedestrian tour – Jake Ball had in fact briefly bowled quicker in the first Test at Brisbane.

When Wood joined the Ashes squad before the third Test following his stint with the Lions in Perth there was a heap of wishful thinking that he could be somehow be the saviour of a series whose writing was already on the wall. It was a fantasy. He was never considered because he was not fit enough to play a five-day match and it remains to be seen how much of the longer form his tortured ankles will allow him to play.

Liam Plunkett took three wickets for England as they restricted Australia to 304-8 (Getty)

But he makes such a difference to Eoin Morgan’s up-and-at-‘em 50-over side. And thankfully he had conditions to suit him, a pitch that was as lively as the Boxing Day drop-in at the MCG was deadly dull.

Ben Stokes’s absence was still felt, though, because Morgan had no margin for error with his bowlers. Woakes was wayward and continues to struggle for rhythm since missing most of the English summer – and more recently the final Ashes Test – with a side injury. Having conceded 44 off his first six overs, he recovered well to allow only 21 off his last four.

Joe Root shakes hands with David Warner after England's victory (Getty)

Rashid, a man no longer trusted in Test cricket but an integral activist of the white-ball revolution, went for seven an over with an assortment of the ugly and the unplayable. Crucially, he winkled out Steve Smith for 23 – a rank failure by his recent standards – with a modest leg-break that actually feathered the inside edge of his horribly angled bat.