LAHORE
\nOpener Ben Duckett struck a Champions Trophy record score of 165 off 143 balls as England racked up the highest total in the event\u2019s history after making 351-8 against Australia in Lahore on Saturday.
\nThe 30-year-old left-hander smashed his highest ODI score, and third century, as England built a commanding total after being sent in to bat on a flat Gaddafi Stadium pitch in Lahore.
\nDuckett hit 17 fours and three sixes to beat the previous best individual score of 145 in the Champions Trophy. New Zealand\u2019s Nathan Astle (2004) and Zimbabwean Andy Flower (2002) had shared the record.
\nIn their opening Group B encounter, England also surpassed the previous highest innings tally in tournament history of 347-4 by New Zealand against the USA at The Oval in 2004.
\nDuckett added 158 for the third wicket with Joe Root, who made a measured 68 off 78 balls, to set the platform for a strong total against a weakened Australian attack.
\nMissing their pace trio of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, Australia\u2019s attack featuring Spencer Johnson, Ben Dwarshuis and Nathan Ellis struggled to contain England.
\nDuckett was finally dismissed by part-time spinner Marnus Labuschagne in the 48th over, improving on his previous highest of 107 not out against Ireland at Bristol in 2023.
\nEngland adopted the same aggressive style of batting with opener Phil Salt dispatching a boundary and a six in the first over before falling to Dwarshuis in the second for 10.
\nDwarshuis also removed Jamie Smith for 15 before the Duckett-Root stand stabilised the innings.
\nBirthday boy Harry Brook (three), Jos Buttler (23) and Liam Livingstone (14) had brief innings before Jofra Archer delivered some late impetus with an unbeaten 21 off 10 balls.
\nDwarshuis was the best Australian bowler with 3-66 while spinners Adam Zampa and Labuschagne took two wickets apiece.
\nEarlier, Australian captain Steve Smith had won the toss and opted to field.
\nSouth Africa, who beat Afghanistan by 107 runs on Friday, are the other team in Group B.
\nTitle-holders Pakistan, India, New Zealand and Bangladesh comprise Group A.
\nThe top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals.
\nTeams
\nAustralia: Steve Smith (captain), Travis Head, Matthew Short, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis, Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson
\nEngland: Jos Buttler (captain), Ben Duckett, Phil Salt, Jamie Smith, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Brydon Carse, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood Umpires: Chris Gaffaney (NZL) and Joel Wilson (WIS)
\nTV umpire: Kumar Dharmasena (SRI)
\nMatch referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LAHORE Opener Ben Duckett struck a Champions Trophy record score of 165 off 143 balls as England racked up the highest total in the event\u2019s history after making 351-8 against Australia in Lahore on Saturday. The 30-year-old left-hander smashed his highest ODI score, and third century, as England built a commanding total after being sent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":463211,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-463171","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n