Josh Inglis century powers Australia to record-breaking Champions Trophy win over England

Inglis was born in the northern city of Leeds but relocated to Perth as a 14-year-old.

Since then, the wicket-keeper/batsman has established his international credentials, firstly as a white-ball player and then making his Test debut last month.

On Saturday the 29-year-old smashed an unbeaten maiden ODI hundred against the country of his birth to help Australia to a record Champions Trophy chase of 352 runs and a five-wicket win in Lahore.

Inglis cracked a 86-ball 120 which overshadowed England opener Ben Duckett’s knock of 165, the highest individual score in Champions Trophy history.

Asked if he still supports England, Inglis replied: “Those days are long gone, I think. But I still support (Mancheser) City in football.

“I’ve already had a few messages from England, so that’s been nice.”

On making a century, he added: “I think it’s really special. It doesn’t matter who it’s against. I think, like I said before, it’s a really tight, quick tournament. You’ve got to be right on it from the first game.

“So, I think that’s probably the most pleasing thing, to get a win on the board in game one.” Inglis brought Australia’s tough chase back on track from a precarious 136-4 with a fifth-wicket stand of 146 with Alex Carey who made a solid 63-ball 69.

The pair built on another stand of 95 between Matthew Short (63) and Marnus Labuschange (47) for the third wicket.

“They sort of set the platform there, got us off to a good start. We were in and around the run rate to start off with, so that was a big help,” said Inglis.

“And then, yeah, me and Carey, we didn’t really say too much out there. Carey is pretty quiet when he’s batting, so I think we were going pretty well.” Once Carey departed, Glenn Maxwell smashed a 15-ball 32 not out to complete the job.

“I think 350 is a big total in any one-day game but we sort of knew, we trained here at night for the last couple of days and it got really dewy around 7.30-8 o’clock,” explained Inglis.

“So, we sort of knew that was in our favour during the run chase and if we could take it deep enough it would be tough for the bowlers at the back end.

“It made life easier for us, the wicket skidded on beautifully and it really helped our run chase.”

EPIC INGLIS TON POWERS AUSSIES TO RECORD-BREAKING WIN

Josh Inglis hit a maiden century to help Australia chase down the highest target in Champions Trophy history in a five-wicket win over old rivals England in Lahore.

The 29-year-old Inglis, who was born in England, smashed an unbeaten 86-ball 120 as Australia chased down 351-8 in 47.3 overs to open their Group B account at Gaddafi Stadium.

The blistering performance from Inglis not only trumped England opener Ben Duckett’s 143-ball 165 — the highest individual score in event history — but enthralled a near-capacity 31,000 weekend crowd.

Inglis carted six sixes and eight boundaries, including the winning maximum off express fast bowler Mark Wood.

Australia were struggling at 27-2 with Travis Head (six) and skipper Steve Smith (five) falling to Jofra Archer and Wood respectively.

Matthew Short, who hit a 66-ball 63 with nine boundaries and a six, added 95 for the third wicket with Marnus Labuschagne (47 off 45 balls with five fours) but spinners Liam Livingstone and Adil Rashid dismissed both.

With Australia still needing an imposing 215 in 27.4 overs, Alex Carey and Inglis brought the chase back on track by adding an invaluable 146 for the fifth wicket.

Carey, dropped on 49 by Archer off Rashid, finally holed out off pace bowler Brydon Carse after a fighting 63-ball 69 with 70 still needed.

Inglis brought up his hundred with two sixes off Carse and one against Archer, reaching the three-figure mark off 77 balls.

Glenn Maxwell played a trademark fiery knock of 32 not out from 15 balls with two sixes and four boundaries as Australia took 226 runs off England’s pace trio of Wood, Archer and Carse.

“We thought 350 was chaseable,” said Smith.

“The two keepers (Inglis and Carey) have been batting beautifully. Josh played shots all round the ground.”

Smith joked: “I don’t know if Josh still has an English passport, but he’s not going anywhere.”

England skipper Jos Buttler blamed the dew for his team’s struggles with the ball.

“A fantastic game, both sides played well, credit to Australia,” said Buttler.

“It was a fantastic innings from Inglis. 350 is a pretty good score, but it was wet and the dew was a worry.”

Earlier, Duckett smashed his highest ODI score, and third century, as England built a commanding total after being sent in to bat on a flat pitch.

Duckett hit 17 fours and three sixes to better the previous best individual score of 145 in the Champions Trophy. New Zealand’s Nathan Astle (2004) and Zimbabwean Andy Flower (2002) had shared the record.

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.

Duckett added 158 for the third wicket with Joe Root, who made a measured 68 off 78 balls, to set the platform for a big total against a weakened Australian attack.

Missing star pace trio of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, Australia’s attack of Spencer Johnson, Ben Dwarshuis and Nathan Ellis struggled to contain England.

Duckett was finally dismissed by part-time spinner Labuschagne in the 48th over, improving on his previous highest of 107 not out against Ireland at Bristol in 2023.

England 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 over for 10.

Dwarshuis also removed Jamie Smith for 15 before Duckett and Root stabilised the innings.

Harry Brook, on his 26th birthday, made three. Captain Jos Buttler (23) and Livingstone (14) also had brief stays before Archer delivered some late impetus with an unbeaten 21 off 10 balls.

Dwarshuis was the best Australian bowler with 3-66 while spinners Adam Zampa and Labuschagne took two wickets apiece.

Arch-rivals India and Pakistan meet in a high-voltage Group A game in Dubai on Sunday.