An outstanding all-round performance from Moeen Ali secured England’s first win of the World Cup as they overpowered Scotland by 119 runs at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
After striking a brilliant 91-ball century, Moeen then took 2-41 as Scotland were dismissed for 184 in reply to England’s effort of 303 for eight.
Kyle Coetzer and Preston Mommsen briefly threatened to upset England’s chances with a fourth-wicket partnership of 60, but Eoin Morgan’s decision to turn to Joe Root paid off as he dismissed the Scotland skipper before Coetzer soon followed and with him went Scotland’s chances.
England had earlier been put in to bat as they looked to make an immediate response to Friday’s heavy defeat to New Zealand in Pool A.
Moeen and Ian Bell calmed any nerves inside the England camp, posting a daunting opening partnership of 172 to provide the perfect platform for the lower order.
It was Moeen who was the dominant partner, reaching a brilliant second one-day international hundred with a series of typically elegant shots after being put down early on.
He got the innings off to a flying start, taking 14 runs from the fourth over including one beautifully-timed drive over long-off for six.
Bell was more circumspect, reaching a becalmed half-century before falling in the 31st over after the pair had reached England’s highest World Cup opening partnership, hitting Richie Berrington to cover.
Moeen was finally dismissed by Majid Haq for 128 shortly after Bell departed, trying to clear the boundaries as England attempted to accelerate the scoring.
Gary Ballance played on for just 10 before Root also fell cheaply to leave England on 203 for four at the start of the 35th over.
James Taylor was busy while at the crease and helped stabilise the innings with captain Morgan before falling to a brilliant piece of work by Scotland keeper Matthew Cross.
Cross, standing up to the stumps, showed good footwork to take a wide at his feet before whipping the bails off as the advancing Taylor failed to reclaim his ground.
That left Morgan and Jos Buttler to provide some late fireworks, and they showed their full range of strokeplay to add 47 runs in the final five overs of the innings.
Josh Davey was impressive at the death and hauled England back in, finishing with figures of 4-68 including the wickets of Morgan, who made 46, and Chris Woakes in successive balls.
With conditions improving throughout the day, Scotland were confident of giving England a scare but James Anderson made an immediate breakthrough, having Calum MacLeod caught behind early on.
Freddie Coleman and Matt Machan both fell cheaply to Woakes and Steven Finn respectively as England took firm control of the game, but the partnership between Coetzer and Mommsen looked to have given renewed hope.
That brought Moeen back into the game, as he and Root combined to frustrate the Scotland batsmen and create mistakes, forcing Coetzer and Berrington to play rash shots as they lost their wickets.
Finn came back at the end to run through the tail and finish with 3-26, while Anderson and Woakes took two wickets apiece.
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Post-match reaction
England captain Eoin Morgan said: “I’m delighted with today’s performance. Obviously with a couple of poor performances it was important for us to focus on what we do and today we came out and expressed ourselves which is good to see.
“The two openers were exceptional up front and set a great platform. Ideally we would have liked to have kicked on without stuttering but we recovered well and got up to a good score.
“I thought we were really good (with the ball). A stand-out performance from Steven Finn, (he) just came in and smashed a length. I thought Broady (Stuart Broad) went unrewarded and Moeen Ali, chipping in with his 10 overs, I thought was brilliant.”
Scotland captain Preston Mommsen says his team are "a better side than what they showed today."#CWC15#EngvScopic.twitter.com/372THfjzxF
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) February 23, 2015
Scotland skipper Preston Mommsen said: “We would have liked a few more early wickets but with the bat we couldn’t quite get going.
“Credit to our bowling attack, the way they bounced back in the second half and the bowling at the death I thought was very good.
“We thought we were in with a shout. We knew we needed a partnership up front and we slowly started to get that and unfortunately it wasn’t that big one we needed.”
Man of the match Moeen Ali said: "It’s nice to get some form going into the next game now, it was nice to get a winning hundred.
"We said thank god for winning the game. Hopefully now we can go on a run and win the next three."
Scotland innings
5.13am - ENGLAND WIN BY 119 RUNS! WICKET! Haq c Ballance b Woakes 15; Sco 184 all out - Haq top edges a pull shot straight into the air and Gary Ballance takes the catch. England win!
5.10am - WICKET! Evans c Buttler b Anderson 9; Sco 184/9 - A couple of full balls narrowly miss the stumps but Anderson finally gets his man as Alasdair Evans gives Buttler his fourth catch.
4.55am - REVIEW! - Broad has Haq trapped in front, but is it hitting the stumps? Umpire's call says the Decision Review System, so the not-out decision stands.
4.48am - WICKET! Cross c Root b Finn 23; Sco 160/8 - A short ball from Finn follows Cross and he glances it to first slip off the face of the bat when he might have been trying to leave it.
4.43am - Broad is back into the attack as England look to wrap up the win in the batting powerplay.
4.37am - England look to be well on course to record their first win of the tournament. Matthew Cross is going nicely at the crease but it looks to be forlorn.
4.32am - WICKET! Davey c Buttler b Finn 9; Sco 150/7 - Finn is brought back into the attack and immediately gets the wicket he was brought back for. Morgan has had a good day all round.
Lovely arvo in Christchurch at Hagley! @KBrunt26@katecross16@BethWild7@natsciver@amyjones313@susandale81pic.twitter.com/CNyFFxQwEx
— Danielle Wyatt (@Danni_Wyatt) February 23, 2015
4.13am - WICKET! Berrington c Morgan b Moeen 8; Sco 128/6 - Another soft wicket for Moeen, who is really having an outstanding game. Richie Berrington chips straight to Morgan at midwicket who takes an easy catch.
4.08am - The ball before that wicket James Taylor produced an excellent piece of fielding on the boundary to cut off a single and force Coetzer back on strike.
4.07am - WICKET! Coetzer c Woakes b Moeen 71; Sco 122/5 - That's the wicket England wanted! A good knock comes to an end as Coetzer gets a leading edge to Moeen Ali which carries to Woakes at long-on.
4.00am - WICKET! Mommsen c Broad b Root 26; Sco 114/4 - Just as Scotland were dragging themselves back into the game, Mommsen top-edges a sweep and Stuart Broad takes a good catch diving forward. A rare wicket for Joe Root.
Mommsen & Coetzer bring up Scotland's record WC partnership (previously 54). 111-3 off 24. Doing better than Ireland were in Bangalore...
— Andy Zaltzman (@ZaltzCricket) February 23, 2015
3.55am - Mommsen and Coetzer are quietly picking up the pace and a flurry of boundaries off Woakes has forced Morgan to hand the ball to Joe Root.
3.37am - FIFTY! Coetzer (64b 8x4 0x6) - He's slowed down a little since the start, but it's been a good innings so far. His team needs him to go on.
3.35am - Finn is building up a head of steam and right in the middle of a good spell. The required rate is well above seven. Will we see a response from the Scottish batsmen?
3.23am - Scotland are in need of a partnership but Preston Mommsen has taken a couple of painful blows to the body and has had a bit of treatment. He was recently named the International Cricket Council Associate Player of the Year for 2014 so will be crucial in this chase.
3.06am - WICKET! Machan c Buttler b Finn 5; Sco 54/3 - It's an important wicket for Steven Finn after his experience on Friday night. He gets Matt Machan to provide a catch through to Buttler.
2.58am - WICKET! Coleman c Morgan b Woakes 7; Sco 47/2 - Chris Woakes is introduced into the attack and gets a wicket first ball! His Warwickshire team-mate Freddie Coleman drives powerfully but straight at Eoin Morgan who takes a sharp chance.
2.57am - England are ahead on the 10-over comparisons with Scotland reaching 47 for one, but they will be delighted with the start they have made.
2.39am - Coetzer is looking in good touch and feasting on the odd loose ball from the England openers, which keeps things interesting.
2.28am - WICKET! MacLeod c Buttler b Anderson 4; Sco 17/1 - The Durham batsman needlessly advances down the wicket to Anderson, and gets an edge through to Jos Buttler who takes the catch at head height.
2.25am - It's been an excellent start for Kyle Coetzer and Calum MacLeod. The ball is swinging but theY have found the boundary on three occasions already.
2.18am - CHANCE! - James Anderson draws an edge third ball but Ian Bell can only get one hand on it before it spills onto the turf.
Hagley oval looking fantastic...come on @ECB_cricket :) pic.twitter.com/XzeQGNXNWW
— Charlotte Edwards (@Lottie2323) February 23, 2015
2.13am - England's players are out and preparing themselves for the field. Majid Haq said during the interval that they would fancy chasing this down. We will see.
England innings
1.46am - England finish on 303 for eight. Scotland came back brilliantly after a fine start by England and Moeen in particular.
1.42am - No hat-trick as Stuart Broad scrambles a leg-bye.
1.41am - WICKET! Woakes c Mommsen b Davey 1; Eng 300/8 - Woakes does the exact same and Mommsen takes another good catch. Davey on a hat-trick!
1.40am - WICKET! Morgan c Mommsen b Davey 46; Eng 300/7 - A good knock from the England skipper ends as he skies one to Preston Mommsen who takes a good catch, one ball after the 300 was brought up.
1.36am - WICKET! Buttler c Davey b Wardlaw 24; Eng 297/6 - Morgan takes 10 from the first two deliveries of the 49th over but then Buttler connects sweetly with one and it flies down the throat of Davey at long-off. A good innings though.
1.34am - Buttler reverse-sweeps Davey for four and they look like they should crept over the 300-mark as Morgan skews the ball safely into the offside.
1.25am - With four overs to go England have reached 267 for five, and Buttler looks in good touch having just picked up a second boundary with his trademark 'ramp' shot.
1.17am - That might not hurt England too much if Jos Buttler can get going in the last five overs. He hits his first ball for four with a perfectly-timed clip off his legs.
1.16am - WICKET! Taylor st Cross b Davey 17; Eng 252/5 - Brilliant work by Matthew Cross! Stood up to the stumps to the quick bowler, he takes a wide ball at his feet and with Taylor advancing down the wicket whips the bails off before he regains his ground.
1.04am - Morgan pulls Iain Wardlaw just over the head of Coleman and it lands on the boundary ropes for six. If the fielder had been on the edge, that would have been out, but the England captain follows it up with another lofted drive for four.
12.59am - It's been an excellent fightback from the Scotland bowlers. Evans has led that and finished his 10 overs with figures of 1-46.
Training done ready for tomorrow's last T20! Now off to watch the lads smash it! Come on England!!!! #scotvseng
— Danielle Wyatt (@Danni_Wyatt) February 23, 2015
Ten overs remaining in England's innings (& end of second powerplay) as Morgan (8*) & Taylor (11*) look to build. 225-4 #EngvSco#CWC15
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) February 23, 2015
12.50am - Morgan gets his juices flowing with an excellent shot over the infield for four. He's hit a couple of shots straight out of the middle of the bat to fielders so far, but that should get his innings rolling.
12.39am - The first runs of the powerplay come from an edge down to third man, but Taylor won't mind as it gets his innings up and running.
12.36am - WICKET! Root c Cross b Davey 1; Eng 203/4 - Joe Root gets a thin edge as he prods forward to Davey. James Taylor and Eoin Morgan need to settle the innings back down.
Powerplay starts with a wicket maiden.
— John Etheridge (@JohnSunCricket) February 23, 2015
12.30am - WICKET! Ballance b Evans 10; Eng 203/3 - Gary Ballance gets an edge onto his stumps and England are stuttering a little as the batting powerplay is taken.
12.25am - WICKET! Moeen c Coleman b Haq 128; Eng 201/2 - Not many more, it turns out. Straight after the drinks break, Moeen tries to clear the midwicket boundary again but is well caught by Freddie Coleman peddling back.
12.21am - The 200 is up at the end of the 34th over as Moeen clips another boundary off his legs. 16 overs to go, how many can the England all-rounder get?
12.17am - Moeen is really starting to motor now. Powerful back-to-back boundaries off Berrington takes him to his highest ODI score and the powerplay is just around the corner.
12.06am - WICKET! Bell c Coetzer b Berrington 54; Eng 172/1 - It looks like England are trying to advance the run-rate, and Bell soon perishes as he chips to cover while trying to go over the top.
11.57pm - CENTURY! Moeen (91b 8x4 4x6) - Moeen goes to his second one-day international hundred with a big six! Well batted! Time for England to kick on?
11.55pm - FIFTY! Bell (80b 2x4 0x6) - He's not been at his fluent best, but Bell has reached an important half-century and played the perfect foil to Moeen so far.
England 144-0 at mid-way mark in innings. Mo (92*) & Bell (43*) setting us up for a big score! #EngvSco#LoveEnglandpic.twitter.com/QmQVQ4iSZ6
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) February 22, 2015
11.44pm - Both batsmen are approaching milestones, 50 for Bell and 100 for Moeen, but it's the 150 partnership that has come up first and England are well set for a score above 300.
11.39pm - Moeen, looking in supreme touch, moves on to 86 with a lovely pull off the hip before blocking a single to the cover boundary.
11.26pm - The two batsmen are content to rotate the strike at the moment, and pick off the bad balls. They are setting a formidable platform and have reached the highest opening partnership of the tournament so far, with 126 after 22 overs.
11.10pm - CENTURY PARTNERSHIP - Just 16.4 overs gone and England have cantered past 100 with boundaries from Bell and Moeen.
11.05pm - That's probably the shot of the day from Moeen. He drives on the up and it carries into the crowd. He's looking ominous for Scotland.
10.57pm - FIFTY! Moeen (39b 6x4 2x6) - Moeen hoiks a ball safely over the infield on the leg side to advance to an impressive fifty, his first of the World Cup.
10.50pm - With the powerplay over, Scotland have introduced the spin of Majid Haq for the first time. Moeen has previously shown he likes to take the attack to the slower bowlers. Bell looks like he's settling in for bed and breakfast at the other end.
Bright start for England in first ten overs & 50-run stand between Mo (35*) & Bell (16*), 58-0. #EngvSco#CWC15pic.twitter.com/fkIHBSIhLK
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) February 22, 2015
10.35pm - The two England men have settled down nicely so far, but the signs are that the outfield will be quite slow after overnight rain. Could this lower England's ideal total?
10.24pm - The first bowling change sees Alasdair Evans replace Davey, but he's immediately met by a crunching pull shot from Bell. The next ball keeps low and traps him on the pad, although Scotland opt not to review.
Mo (17*) thumps a straight six back over Davey at end of the fourth over, 23-0. Bell (2*). #EngvSco#CWC15
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) February 22, 2015
10.17pm - Early signs of swing for Middlesex's Josh Davey, but he can't control it and concedes four wides, while Moeen does well to reign in his attacking instincts, before taking 14 from Davey's second set of six.
10.05pm - Moeen Ali is immediately under way with a solid drive for a single and Ian Bell gets two of his own with another sweetly-timed drive.
Pre-play news
9.53pm - The teams are making their way out to the middle for the anthems. Not long until we get started now!
Our captain has been a busy man this morning, signing lots of autographs for fans after coin toss #CWC15#EngvScotpic.twitter.com/T3cuJlCWMc
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) February 22, 2015
9.38pm - There has been a lot of honesty from within the England camp since Friday's defeat. They will have the perfect chance to make a statement first up having been put in to bat, and yesterday Ian Bell admitted they will have to step up, starting today.
Come on England! #EngvScot#CWC2015
— Matt Prior (@MattPrior13) February 22, 2015
Scotland: Kyle Coetzer, Calum MacLeod, Freddie Coleman, Matt Machan, Preston Mommsen, Richie Berrington, Matthew Cross, Josh Davey, Majid Haq, Alasdair Evans, Iain Wardlaw
England: Ian Bell, Moeen Ali, Gary Ballance, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, James Taylor, Jos Buttler, Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad, Steven Finn, James Anderson.
9.30pm – TOSS! - Scotland win the toss and choose to field first. They have made two changes, while England have named an unchanged side. We'll confirm those two teams for you shortly.
9.20pm - England will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing display against New Zealand, which made it two losses in as many games in Pool A of the World Cup. Scotland impressed a lot of people when they took the Black Caps to the wire in their opening match.
9.10pm - Good evening and welcome to live coverage of England's World Cup clash with Scotland at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
Good morning from the Hagley Oval in Christchurch! Big #CWC15 match! Come on England! #EngvScotpic.twitter.com/c5xq5wyX1H
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) February 22, 2015