By Will Jackson
Chris Woakes made an early breakthrough as Australia set about chasing down 234 in the first one-day international at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Woakes removed Aaron Finch and then took an excellent catch to see off Shane Watson after England posted 234 thanks largely to an outstanding century from Eoin Morgan after a shaky start.
Ian Bell and James Taylor both fell leg before to Mitchell Starc in the first over before Joe Root nicked Pat Cummins to slip as England slipped to 12 for three in the fourth over.
Morgan shared partnerships of 36 and 67 with Ravi Bopara and Jos Buttler respectively, growing in confidence and fluency before bringing up his 127-ball ton with a carved drive for four off James Faulkner.
The new England captain was eventually dismissed for an outstanding 121 in what proved to be the final over of the innings, with Starc returning at the death to claim figures of 4-42.
England were without James Anderson for the opening game of the Tri-Series after he failed to overcome a niggle, while Steven Finn returned to the side in place of James Tredwell.
Match scorecard / Live ball-by-ball commentary
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Australia innings
9.17am - Smith breaks his shackles and plays a glorious straight drive for six off Moeen as the pair go past fifty for the third wicket.
9.12am - Australia are just over half-way to their target. They are 118 for two after 22 overs, with a further 117 needed as Ravi Bopara is introduced with the ball.
8.55am - Moeen Ali comes into the attack and immediately has a close lbw shout turned down against Warner. With the scoring rate slowing as the ball gets older and softer, a wicket here for England could make for a very close finish.
England restricting Australia in Sydney but opener Warner reaches his 50 off 48 balls. #Aus 88-2 after 17 overs #AusvEng#triseries
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) January 16, 2015
8.46am - Stuart Broad is keeping a tight line at Steve Smith early on and the young Australian is taking his time to get going as drinks are taken with the score 85 for two.
8.30am - WICKET! Watson c Woakes b Jordan 16; Aus 71/2 - Jordan hurries up Shane Watson and (another man caught out in the deep) he skies it to Woakes at deep square-leg. Excellent catch running in from the England all-rounder.
8.23am - Australia are coasting along at the moment as England rotate the bowlers, trying to find the breakthrough. Warner is looking ominous after a shaky start.
8.02am - WICKET! Finch b Woakes 15; Aus 33/1 - It had been coming, and it's another wicket to a cross-bat shot as Finch tries to force Woakes away on the offside but can only edge onto his stumps. A deserved wicket for the England openers.
7.57am - CHANCE! Finch punches a drive straight back at Steven Finn and the tall bowler gets a hand on it but it's too quick for him and races away for four. Australia have moved on to 33 after six overs, but aren't looking totally comfortable.
7.50am - Warner is lucky to get away with a miscued drive that just evades Eoin Morgan running back from mid-off.
7.35am - The in-form David Warner and Aaron Finch are at the crease. If these two get going they could take the game away from England very quickly and Warner gets going with a textbook drive for four.
England innings
Eoin Morgan’s 121 is the highest score by an England ODI captain vs Australia! #AUSvENGpic.twitter.com/yg0tsOSKrd
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) January 16, 2015
6.49am - WICKET! Finn b Starc 0; Eng 234 all out - Finn is done all ends up as Starc gets a perfect yorker speared in at off stump to end the innings on 234 and with personal figures of 4-42.
WICKET Captain Morgan's magnificent innings is over. 121 runs off 135 balls & included 11 fours & three sixes #Eng 234-9 #EngvAus#triseries
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) January 16, 2015
6.45am - WICKET! Morgan c Maxwell b Starc 121; Eng 234/9 - An outstanding innings comes to an end just after he had taken 10 runs from the first two balls of another Starc over. He tries to clear mid-wicket but finds Maxwell who takes his fourth catch of the day.
6.42am - WICKET! Jordan c Maxwell b Faulkner 18; Eng 224/8 - England were building up a head of steam with a few boundaries sneaking through, but Jordan gets carried away and pulls straight to Maxwell who again takes the catch.
6.38am - Chris Jordan gets a very handy edge for four through third man but all eyes are on Morgan who hit his first century for England since the tour to Australia this time last year.
6.31am - CENTURY! Morgan (127b 9x4 2x6) What a knock from the England skipper. He carves one over cover to bring up three figures and it's been an outstanding innings. He knows he'll need a few more to post a competitive target though.
Huge six and then an explosive four for Morgan (95*) takes him into the nineties! #EngvAus#triseries#CWC15
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) January 16, 2015
6.11am - WICKET! Woakes c Smith b Maxwell 6; Eng 168/7 - A soft dismissal as Woakes lobs a simple catch to Steven Smith at short mid-wicket. He had been timing the ball well but that ball got stuck in the pitch as he tried to turn his wrists on it.
5.59am - CHANCE! New man Chris Woakes flicks one off his hip but it flies off the bat and straight to Doherty at fine-leg who drops a regulation chance.
5.52am - No boundaries in that innings from Buttler, which is a startling statistic. A sign of the situation or is it a tricky pitch? Morgan has no such problems, nailing another cut shot for four.
5.47am - WICKET! Buttler c Warner b Faulkner 28; Eng 136/6 - Buttler tries to take a leaf out of his captain's book but can only slice the ball to David Warner on the cover boundary.
5.38am - FIFTY! Morgan (88b 4x4 1x6) The powerplay signals a change of intent from the England skipper and he dances down the wicket before planting Doherty for six over long-off. A vital half-century for Morgan and his team.
5.35am - CHANCE! Buttler gets an edge through to Haddin who is stood up to the stumps. However it took quite a deviation and he couldn't quite cling on, even on the second attempt. The batting powerplay has been taken with 17 overs left in the innings.
Well played! Important half-century stand (50 from 95 balls) between Morgan (47*) and Buttler (22*). #Eng 119-5 #EngvAus#triseries#CWC15
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) January 16, 2015
5.30am - The Australia fielding has been top class so far and they're preventing England from building up any sort of momentum. Will the two England batsmen get frustrated?
5.21am - There's a good battle developing between Morgan and Doherty. The England captain is itching to be positive against the spinner but knows there is a lot riding on his wicket so is forced to play out a maiden.
5.17am - CHANCE! Morgan cuts Faulkner but the ball jumps up a bit off the pitch and the thickish edge flies to backward point where Steve Smith can't quite cling on to a one-handed effort. What a catch that would have been.
England reach the 100-run mark in the 25th over. Morgan (37*) and Buttler (16*) going along nicely. #Eng 101-5 #EngvAus#triseries#CWC15
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) January 16, 2015
5.05am - Buttler is taking his time to find his feet out in the middle and with their side in desperate need of a partnership, the pair have added 24 in the seven overs since Bopara's departure.
4.50am - There's a bit of variable bounce in the pitch as one sneaks under the bat of Jos Buttler. Morgan smashes a drive back past Watson before another one keeps low and catches the bottom-edge before trickling through to Brad Haddin.
Sorry Pat, but we had to do it... LIVE: http://t.co/ZqEdYfw2kq#AUSvENGpic.twitter.com/MSgbzjDLNt
— cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) January 16, 2015
4.36am - WICKET! Bopara c Maxwell b Doherty 13; Eng 69/5 - Bopara falls after the break after attempting to cut Xavier Doherty but getting a thick edge which carries to Maxwell who takes a low catch at point.
4.32am - Drinks have been taken with England 67 for four. The captain is looking good on 21 not out after pummelling the final ball of the last over for four.
4.24am - Maxwell is introduced to the attack as Morgan and Ravi Bopara look to rebuild the innings by rotating the strike.
Cummins is still on at the other end and has bowled a staggering full toss that went straight to first slip at waist height...
4.16am - Fair to say it's been a bit of a struggle so far, but the captain is looking in good order out in the middle as he gets his first boundary away through the offside.
The new man in, Ravi Bopara (4*), dispatches Watson's pitched up delivery to the rope. #Eng 39-4 off 10 overs #EngvAus#triseries#CWC15
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) January 16, 2015
4.03am - WICKET! Moeen c Maxwell b Faulkner 22; Eng 33/4 - He had been looking good but its one shot too many from Moeen as he chips James Faulkner straight to Glenn Maxwell who is stationed on the cover boundary.
3.52am - Moeen appears to be unaffected by the loss of his partners as he lofts Starc over midwicket for a glorious six with ease, before running the ball down to third man for two more.
3.40am - WICKET! Root c Watson b Cummins 5; Eng 12/3 - Pat Cummins gets in on the act now as Root attempts a drive at a swinging delivery and can only edge it to Shane Watson at first slip who makes no mistake with the catch.
Terrific shot! Moeen Ali (5*) smashes the ball to the fence through mid on. #Eng 12-2 from three overs. #EngvAus#triseries#CWC15
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) January 16, 2015
3.36am - CHANCE! Root flicks one into the legside and attempts a quick single, but George Bailey reacts quickly and if his throw had hit the stumps Root would have been well out of his ground.
3.28am - Joe Root gets the first boundary of the innings with a square drive off his former Yorkshire team-mate which accelerates over what looks like a quick outfield.
3.24am - WICKET! Taylor lbw b Starc 0; Eng 0/2 - Almost an exact copy of the Bell dismissal as James Taylor is dismissed second ball! What a start for Australia and Starc who has got the ball swinging.
3.21am - WICKET! Bell lbw b Starc 0; Eng 0/1 - Full, swinging in and it smacks Bell on the front pad and he is given out to the very first ball of the innings.
3.20am - The two England men are out in the middle and it will be Mitchell Starc who bowls the first over.
Pre-play news
Just seen the England team line-up. This is an exciting team! Love it! #AUSvENG
— Kevin Pietersen (@KP24) January 16, 2015
3.02am - We have around 20 minutes until the game is under way. Will we see some more fireworks from Moeen Ali and Bell at the top of the order?
Australia XI: Finch, Warner, Watson, Smith, Bailey, Maxwell, Haddin, Faulkner, Starc, Cummins, Doherty #AUSvENG
— cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) January 16, 2015
2.52am - ENGLAND WIN THE TOSS AND BAT! Morgan, in his first game as official captain of the England side, calls correctly and has chosen to make first use of the pitch at the Sydney Cricket Ground. James Tredwell is a surprise omission from the side, with Steven Finn taking his place.
2.48am - So there is no James Anderson for England. Eoin Morgan revealed yesterday that the seamer was struggling with fitness but should be fine for the next game.
England have been in good form in their warm-up matches on this tour, with Ian Bell striking a record-breaking 187 against a Prime Minister's XI on Wednesday.
#Eng team to face #Australia: Ali, Bell, Taylor, Root, Morgan (C), Bopara, Buttler, Woakes, Jordan, Broad, Finn #AusvEng#triseries#CWC15
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) January 16, 2015
2.45am - Good morning and welcome to our coverage of the first one-day international of the Tri-Series between England and Australia - well done if you've made it!
The view from our position in the press box at the SCG. #England out in the middle for practice #triseries#CWC15pic.twitter.com/xD8JEfvotv
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) January 16, 2015