Warner leads the Australian charge

David Warner’s first one-day international century in almost three years has guided Australia to a three-wicket, bonus point win over England in the first Carlton Mid ODI Tri-Series match at the SCG.

Warner’s 127 from 115 balls was his first since March 2012 as Australia chased down England's 234 all out with 61 balls to spare to secure five competition points.

The win was set up by Australia’s new ball attack which ripped the tourists’ top order apart, with Mitchell Starc picking up two wickets in the first three balls of the match to finish with figures of 4-42 from 8.5 overs.

England recovered from the horror start thanks to Eoin Morgan’s first hundred as the full-time 50-over captain, scoring 121 off 136 balls to give his bowlers a respectable total to bowl to.

The only concern for Australia was a sore right hamstring suffered by Warner, but the left-hander batted on without much trouble.

"It's just a little bit sore, taking off and turning out there," Warner told Nine's Wide World of Sports after the match. "I'll put some ice on it and I'll be right to go on Sunday."

Morgan won the toss and wasted no time electing to bat in hot conditions as England opted to play without a spinner, while Australia chose left-arm orthodox tweaker Xavier Doherty in their final XI.

England’s newest one-day opener was coming off a 145-ball 187 against the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra two days ago, but today Ian Bell couldn’t survive the first ball of the match from left-armer Starc, trapped lbw for a golden duck.

The buzzing crowd was still streaming in when Bell fell, but those who missed the first wicket were treated to a replay two balls later when No.3 James Taylor was dismissed with an exact replica from the tall fast bowler.

England’s leading ODI run-scorer in 2014 Joe Root lasted 15 balls before a thick outside off the pace of Pat Cummins found Shane Watson’s safe hands at first slip to reduce the visitors to 3-12 inside four overs.

More trouble would follow when Moeen Ali succumbed to George Bailey’s trap at deep point to go for 22 from 21 balls and sink England to 4-33.

Amidst the carnage, Morgan established a steely presence at the crease, and in tandem with Ravi Bopara saw England through the mandatory 10-over power play the drinks break.

With the players rehydrated and the lacquer all but gone from the pair of white kookaburras, Bailey turned to his specialist spinner Doherty, who wasted no time in removing Bopara at backward point to continue the visitors’ decline.

Morgan found an ally in wicketkeeper Jos Buttler as the pair worked singles, ran hard for twos and defied Bailey’s attempts to break through and expose England’s lengthy tail.

It would be more than 14 overs in between boundaries for the tourists, but the six that broke the dought brought up Morgan’s fifty in the first over of the batting powerplay.

The batting powerplay is designed to provide batsmen a five-over block to hit out before the obligatory final stages blitzkrieg, but invariably produces wickets. That trend continued when England’s rear guard partnership of 67 was broken by James Faulkner who removed Buttler to a good catch by David Warner at deep point.

As Morgan pushed England towards 200 and his own century, Woakes offered Steve Smith arguably the easiest catch of his blossoming career at mid-wicket, and the 25-year-old obliged to send the fast bowler on his way for eight.

Twelve runs off Glenn Maxwell’s sixth over had Morgan within one blow of reaching his seventh ODI ton, and two overs later a lofted drive over cover for four got him to triple-figures from 127 deliveries.

Another fifty-run stand came in flash between Morgan in Jordan before the fast bowler picked out Maxwell in the deep to go for 17, and two lusty blows and 10 runs later, Morgan’s valiant knock came to an end to give Starc his third wicket, before wrapping up the innings with Steve Finn first ball.

While Warner’s Test form has reached new heights over the past 18 months, his form in the 50-over format has been forgettable.

But the dynamic left-hander set about fixing his one-day dilemma in the first match of 2015 by launching at the English attack with the fearless stroke play that’s made him one of the most feared batsman in Test cricket.

Six boundaries in the first 10 overs had Warner on his way, but his opening partner Aaron Finch failed to match his partner’s exuberance, chopping Woakes on for 15 off 18 balls.

Warner was joined by the broad shoulders of Watson in the middle, and after a clip and cut for four each, Watson’s uneasy time with the blade was prolonged when he top edged Jordan to be caught short of the square leg boundary for 16.

Then an innocuous touch of the leg and wince of the eye had Australian fans and support staff skip a breath when Warner grabbed at his right hamstring.

One-fifth of Australia’s 15-man World Cup squad are currently sidelined with hamstring issues, but Warner soldiered on with new partner Smith, and even a quick visit from Bupa Support Team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris didn’t seem to deter his march towards his third ODI century.

If Warner was the fire of the partnership, Smith was cool as ice at the other end. On a wicket with variable bounce and inconsistent pace, the acting Test captain took his time to get set before attacking.

At one stage the 25-year-old was nine off 26 balls, but in a blink of an eye, the blond batsman was 33 off 40 and had Australia in the box seat to take out game one of the seven-match tri-series.

But as Warner closed in on his hundred, an uncharacteristic rush of blood by Smith saw him run past an Ali off-break to be bowled for 37.

The loss of his NSW Blues brother didn’t prevent Warner bringing up his third ODI ton in Australia, the hamstring problem restraining him from the trademark leap as he saluted the standing ovation from the SCG faithful.

Skipper Bailey survived a strong appeal for lbw that on replay was proven adjacent, but his luck ran out on 10 when he skied Woakes to Buttler when 36 runs were needed with 82 balls remaining.

The rub of the green went England’s way three balls later when Maxwell was judged to have edged Woakes behind, but this time it was Hot Spot that found the Victorian not guilty of hitting the ball.

However, any hope of a miracle England victory was dashed when Brad Haddin belted three consecutive boundaries to have not only the win secured, but a bonus point in their sights.

Striving for the necessary quick finish for the extra competition point, Warner hit Woakes for a brace of boundaries before the hunt for a third found Bell at point to end his blockbuster knock on 127.

A mix up saw Haddin run out for 16, leaving Faulkner – Australia’s modern Michael Bevan – to ice the game and deliver the bonus point.

Australia’s next match is against India on Sunday in Melbourne, while England travel to Brisbane to take on MS Dhoni’s men on Tuesday.

Australia XI: George Bailey (c), Aaron Finch, David Warner, Shane Watson, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Brad Haddin, James Faulkner, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Xavier Doherty.

England XI: Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Ian Bell, James Taylor, Joe Root, Ravi Bopara, Jos Buttler, Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan, Stuart Broad, Steve Finn.

Australia’s World Cup Fixtures

February 14: v England, 2:30pm at the MCG

February 21: v Bangladesh, 1:30pm at the Gabba

February 28: v New Zealand, 2:00pm at Eden Park (NZ)

March 4: v Afghanistan, 2:30pm at the WACA

March 8: v Sri Lanka, 2:30pm at the SCG

March 13: v Scotland, 2:30pm at Blundstone Arena

View the full fixture list here

#CmonAussie

Remember, you can also support Australia on the road to the World Cup by either tweeting @CricketAus the hashtag #CmonAussie or visiting this page to get your digital autograph from Clarke and go on to purchase your very own personalised World Cup top.

Get your 'digigraph' here