Alex Hales and Jonny Bairstow both hit hundreds as England broke the record for the highest score in a men’s one-day international for the second time in two years at Trent Bridge by scoring 481 for six against Australia yesterday.
Hales made 147 on his Nottinghamshire home ground and Bairstow 139 as England surpassed their own previous all-time record men’s ODI total of 444 for three, also set at Trent Bridge, against Pakistan in 2016.
England captain Eoin Morgan became England’s all-time leading run-scorer in this format during a 67 that featured 21-ball fifty – England’s quickest at this level. Bairstow’s hundred was his fourth in six ODIs while Hales’s century ended a run of low scores. 
“It was amazing,” Bairstow told Sky Sports. “This ground is a special ground for us. It always tends to bring something exciting – what a pitch it is.”
Hales added: “We’ve had some great memories here as a team and today is another special day. 
“The 500 was murmured when Morg (Morgan) came out but we just couldn’t get there,” he added with England, already 2-0 up in this five-match campaign, eyeing a second series win this year over world champions Australia following a 4-1 success ‘Down Under’ in January.
Jason Roy, who made 120 in England’s 38-run win in the second ODI in Cardiff on Sunday – a match Morgan missed because of a back spasm – could have had back-to-back hundreds but instead ran himself out on 82.
Together with Bairstow he put on 159 for the first wicket, with Bairstow and Hales putting on 151 for the second.
England might even have scored 500 had not Hales and Morgan been dismissed off successive balls to leave them 459 for five off 47.3 overs.  Australia captain Tim Paine used eight bowlers before the 25th over, having sent England into bat.
But an attack missing injured Ashes-winning fast bowlers Mitchel Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, struggled for line and length in overcast conditions on a ground favouring swing bowling.
Jhye Richardson took three for 92 in 10 overs while medium-pacer Andrew Tye’s nine wicketless overs cost 100 runs.
Fast bowler Billy Stanlake, fit again after missing Australia’s defeat in Cardiff, was also punished for failing to bowl a full length, on his way to none for 74 in eight overs. Roy hooked a short delivery for four over midwicket and next ball, when Stanlake, again dropped short, he hooked him for six. Left-arm spinner Ashton Agar thought he had Bairstow lbw for 27 when he missed a sweep but the batsman’s review showed the ball, surprisingly, missing leg stump.
Bairstow, on 30, skyed a drive off Tye but Marcus Stoinis failed to hold an extremely tough chance as he ran back from mid-on. The England openers were now treating Australia’s attack as if they were net bowlers.
Australia, however, were gifted a wicket when Roy ran himself out going for a needless second ru But Hales was quickly into his stride with three fours in four balls off medium-pacer Stoinis.
It was off Australia’s eighth bowler, left-arm wrist spinner Short, that Bairstow hit a huge six over deep midwicket to complete a 69-ball hundred including 11 fours and four sixes.
England were 294 for one off 33 overs and the very next ball saw them on 300 as Hales launched Stanlake for six.
Bairstow eventually hammered Agar to Richardson at deep midwicket. Hales – who also faced 92 balls – was caught in the deep off Richardson and next ball Morgan, whose tally of 5,443 ODI runs for England in 180 matches has now surpassed Ian Bell’s 5416 in 161 – also holed out.

SCOREBOARD
England

J. Roy run out (Short/Paine) 82
J. Bairstow c Richardson b Agar 139
A. Hales c Agar b Richardson 147
J. Buttler c Finch b Richardson 11
E. Morgan c Paine b Richardson 67
M. Ali run out (Paine) 11
J. Root not out 4
D. Willey not out 1
Extras (b1, lb8, nb3, w7) 19
Total (6 wkts, 50 overs) 481
Fall of wickets: 1-159 (Roy), 2-310 (Bairstow), 3-335 (Buttler), 4-459 (Hales), 5-459 (Morgan), 6-480 (Ali)
Bowling: Stanlake 8-0-74-0 (1w); Richardson 10-1-92-3; Agar 10-0-70-1 (2w); Tye 9-0-100-0 (2nb, 1w); Maxwell 2-0-21-0; Stoinis 8-0-85-0 (1nb, 2w); Finch 1-0-7-0; Short 2-0-23-0.



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