Alex Hales, Jos Buttler lead England to win over Australia

PERTH: Openers Alex Hales and Jos Buttler blasted half-centuries to lead England to an eight-run win over Australia in the first of three warm-up games before the T20 World Cup starts later this month. England powered to 208/6 after losing the toss, a commanding total which proved too much for Australia despite a gallant 44-ball 73 from David Warner. The world champions scored 200/9 in their 20 overs, disappointing a 25,755-strong crowd starved of international cricket for nearly three years due to strict border controls in Western Australia during the Covid-19 pandemic. England welcomed Buttler (68 off 32 balls) and firebrand Ben Stokes back into the team as they look to settle their line-up. The skipper combined with Hales (84 from 51) to find the rope 27 times, capitalising on Australia’s decision to experiment with all-rounders instead of specialist seamers in the series opener. Reuters