England batting mainstay Joe Root on Friday became only the third player from the country to feature in 200 One-Day Internationals, according to Yahoo Sports.
Root reached the milestone when he took the field for the first ODI against Australia at Perth Stadium, as reported by Yahoo Sports.
He joined Eoin Morgan, who played 225 ODIs, and Jos Buttler, who has 204 appearances, in the elite list of England players to reach the landmark, the publication noted.
Australia captain Mitch Marsh won the toss and elected to bowl in the series opener, which comes amid renewed attention on the 2018 Sandpapergate scandal, the coverage stated.
Less than four hours before the toss, Australia Test captain Pat Cummins addressed a news conference in Sydney, dismissing claims made in Usman Khawaja’s autobiography, released this week, as “complete and utter nonsense,” per Yahoo Sports.
Marsh said the opening ODI of the three-match series would be an important start to a busy 12 months for Australia, which includes a home Test series against New Zealand, tours of India and England, and next year’s World Cup in South Africa, according to the report.
“It’s the start of the summer for us (and) that first game is always important,” Marsh said, as cited by Yahoo Sports.
Australia will be without several of their first-choice fast bowlers for the white-ball series, with Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Scott Boland missing from the squad, the outlet reported.
Xavier Bartlett, left-arm pacer Spencer Johnson and 21-year-old Mahli Beardman are part of the bowling attack instead, per the text.
Beardman, who hails from Western Australia, is making his international debut, reported Yahoo Sports.
Marsh said the young fast bowler would have a special occasion playing his first international match at home, according to the publication.
“It’s going to be exciting for him,” Marsh said, noting that there is “no better place in the world for a young West Australian to debut.”
“We’ve got a reasonably young and inexperienced side, but lots of energy,” Marsh added, per the report.
Australia are playing their first ODI since September, when they lost a three-match series 2-1 against South Africa, concluded Yahoo Sports.