England and Australia had the honor of kicking off the one-day international phenomenon all the way back in 1971, and the same two teams met again in ODI # 3,000 in the first of a five-game series. As a sequel to the World Twenty20 final, and a preview of the upcoming Ashes series, more was riding on this series than you'd normally expect. And it was Andrew Strauss' men who drew first blood, sealing a comfortable victory over their arch-nemeses thanks to Eoin Morgan's sparkling century, and making some headway in putting to rest the 6-1 drubbing they received from Australia last year.

The Aussies made a good start batting first, Shane Watson being his typically muscular self, before top-edging a pull back to Stuart Broad for 33 off 26. At 52/1 in the 9th over, there wasn't much to worry about, but when Tim Paine chopped a Luke Wright delivery onto his stumps to make it 66/2, England felt themselves on top. Ricky Ponting and Cameron White, both extremely dangerous batsmen, fell in quick succession to leave Australia wobbling at 98/4 in the 22nd over. Michael Clarke and David Hussey put on a 70-run recovery, before Hussey walked (28)  after feathering an edge to Craig Kieswetter off Michael Yardy. Clarke made a confidence-boosting 50 after failing to score in the tour games before this series, and put on 57 with James Hopes, who made a good 34 before falling in the first over of the batting powerplay. Another Australian recovery checked by England at 227/6 in the 45th over, but Nathan Hauritz biffed a good 22 off 17 balls to take the visitors to 267/6. Michael Clarke's 87 was the sole significant contribution to the Aussie total, as none of the other batsmen were able to capitalize on the starts they made.

In reply, Andrew Strauss looked good before Ryan Harris had him caught behind for just 10. Kevin Pietersen made his 100th appearance for England, but fell against the run of play after he and Craig Kieswetter put on 59 together. With his dismissal, England were 75/2 in the 13th over, on par with the required run rate. They went ahead with a 6 from Kieswetter, who became Josh Hazlewood's first ODI victim the next over. Bowled for 38, England slipped to 81/3, and became 97/4 when Paul Collingwood was smartly caught by a leaping James Hopes at mid-off for just 11. Australia sniffed a chance, but Luke Wright and Eoin Morgan steered England out of murky waters. Morgan reached his 50 from 45 balls, while Wright was trapped dead in front to Ryan Harris for a good 36 (192/5). Importantly for England, he and Morgan kept the run-rate moving forward, and Tim Bresnan proved his batting credentials with a gutsy 27 off 29. When he was bowled by a brilliant Harris delivery, England needed only 5 to win, and Morgan needed 1 for his century. Michael Yardy took a single, and Morgan smashed the next delivery down the ground to claim the first game in this series, and his third ODI century.

More than anything, Australia will rue their batting failures. Only Clarke's 87 was of any note, the next highest being James Hopes' 34. 267 isn't a bad score, by any means, and it would have been unassailable in 1971. In 2010, however, it took England only 46 overs to better it. Brilliant as though Morgan's century was, England had much the same problem - the next highest score was Kieswetter's 38. Ryan Harris was easily the best bowler of the day, being the most economical and accurate. This was definitely a great start by England to the series, but they know better than anyone (well, except Pakistan) that Australia are never defeated until the last ball is bowled, the last wicket falls, or the last run is scored. Eoin Morgan had the honors this time - who will step up for game #2?