Most plaudits with the bat were owing to Aaron Finch, whose 135 was especially galling for England because he was dropped on zero by Chris Woakes. Australia's Aaron Finch sweeps strongly under clear skies at the MCG. Credit:Getty Images Finch and George Bailey (55 off 69) got Australia back on track with a stand of 146. Even though both departed by the 39th over, they had ensured Australia had sufficient. Then at the death Glenn Maxwell (66 off 40) and Brad Haddin (31 off 14) ensured the scoring rate did not flag. They were primarily responsible for Australia amassing 105 runs in the last 10 overs to lift them to their highest MCG score, and the sixth best anywhere at home. With the ball, Mitch Marsh demoralised England by claiming 5-33. Marsh's haul was aided by some brilliant catching from Haddin and, most particularly, Steve Smith. The latter got into the act when wicketkeeper Jos Buttler looked to have blasted a Marsh half-volley over short-cover to the boundary, only for Smith to react quickly enough to catch it at full stretch, diving high and to his left. There was little for England supporters to take solace in beyond the stoic performances of James Taylor (98 not out off 90) and Chris Woakes (37 off 42), who produced a seventh-wicket partnership of 92 that, as English pundit Andy Zaltzman observed, added a fig leaf of dignity to England's awkwardly nude man of a performance. Steve Finn claimed a hat-trick but it could hardly have been more understated, or less significant, given it came from the last three balls of the Australian innings as batsmen strove to push the total beyond 350.

The match ended bizarrely — and prematurely, it was later confirmed — when Taylor was adjudged leg-before to Josh Hazlewood but successfully challenged the decision. It was to no avail, however, as Maxwell's direct hit ran out Jimmy Anderson, a decision that stood in contravention of the laws of cricket. The laws say in the event of a dismissal being overturned by DRS, the ball is considered dead from the time the on-field umpire's decision is made, and replays confirmed Aleem Dar made his decision before the direct hit. After a long run of poor scores, George Bailey finally got some runs in a one-day game. Credit:AFP The ICC confirmed after the match the decision to adjudge Anderson run-out, and as an implication deny Taylor the chance to reach his century, was wrong. "The playing control team (PCT) met and reviewed the final ball of the game, which resulted in James Anderson being given run-out. Article 3.6 (a) of appendix 6 of the DRS playing conditions states the ball should've been deemed dead when the batsman (James Taylor) was given out LBW. No further runs or dismissals were possible," the ICC said in a statement. "The PCT spoke to the England team management and acknowledged the game ended incorrectly and an error was made." Challenge: Josh Hazlewood. Credit:Getty Images

Morgan chose to field after winning the toss, with his rationale being that with the pitch being covered from late Friday afternoon until a few hours before the match, that would have created enough moisture to assist the bowlers and that the outfield would be sodden. The baking sun in the last few hours before the toss put paid to both, although the latter was never likely, given the MCG's superb drainage. The visitors brought in Gary Ballance, who was sidelined for the tri-series due to a broken finger. That resulted in Taylor's demotion from three to six. The omission of Ravi Bopara also reduced England's bowling options, and Morgan had to turn to Joe Root as the sixth bowling option. Bailey said the day before the match that England was particularly reliant on new-ball wickets to succeed. Poor fielding cost them the chance to remove both openers within the first five overs. Woakes' miss off Finch in the first over, bowled by Jimmy Anderson, was awful. He did not have a lot of time to react at square-leg, but that did not excuse his inability to hold on to the overhead chance. Moeen Ali gave David Warner a life on seven when he failed to get a hand on a crisply hit off-drive, also off Anderson, that passed at knee-height to his left.

Half of the 66 runs Australia scored in the opening 10 overs came in the fourth and fifth overs, with Anderson and Broad otherwise impressing with the new ball. Just as Australia looked poised to accelerate, Broad removed Warner and Shane Watson with consecutive deliveries. Warner was bowled off his pad trying to drive through the leg-side, and then Watson edged a fine delivery just outside his off-stump. England's removal of Smith in the 11th over, edging on to his stumps as he attempted a drive off Woakes, gave them the ascendancy in the match – fleetingly, it proved. Morgan sought to pile pressure on his counterpart Bailey by deploying a short-leg, seeking to replicate the way the right-hander was removed in the tri-series final. The tactic did not stop Bailey from attempting his trusty pull shot, and within five overs England gave up on the close fielder. Having needed only 37 deliveries to reach 50, Australia needed almost double that tally — 70 — to reach 100. That drop in the scoring rate was acceptable, given the necessity for consolidation.

The first 10 overs of the Finch-Bailey partnership produced just one boundary. The first sign of Australia's renewed aggression came in the second over when Ali was hit for two boundaries. The folly of assuming Root could, in the absence of Bopara, be the team's sixth bowling option was exposed when he was introduced in the 25th over and was crunched for a four and six, after which he was not seen again. In Finch's two years as a one-day opener he has scored five centuries, although none could compare with the significance of reaching his sixth in a World Cup, from 102 balls. His milestone came from the first ball of the batting powerplay, which he and Bailey elected to take in the 31st over, five overs earlier than they had to. Bailey should have been run out for 49. That he was given a reprieve, when Steve Finn fumbled a run-out opportunity at the non-striker's end, was hard to begrudge given how resolute the acting captain batted in what will, despite Watson's failure, probably be his last match before he makes way for Michael Clarke. The partnership between Finch and Bailey was on the cusp of reaching 150 when Finch fatally took on the arm of Morgan at cover. The wicket of Bailey two overs later, bowled by Steve Finn off his inside edge, meant Australia had to rely on two new batsmen to finish the innings.

Maxwell waited only two deliveries before unleashing a trademark reverse sweep to dispatch Ali to the boundary. He struck 11 fours and shared half-century partnerships with Marsh (23 off 20) and Haddin. Loading England lost Ali and Ballance within the first five overs, the latter after an astute move by Bailey to deploy Finch at short cover. Their departures left Ian Bell needing to produce a massive innings, but he was one of Marsh's three victims in his first three overs. By the end of Marsh's first spell he had 5-18, having also removed Morgan and Buttler. Australia should have removed Taylor, the last of the specialist batsmen, in the 26th over for 20, but the catch at deep square-leg was fumbled by Finch. While Taylor went on to punish Australia for that rare fielding blemish, the implications were incomparable to Woakes' dropping of Finch from the fifth ball of the match.