London: Hosts England held their nerve to clinch victory in the first ODI against Australia in the 5-match ODI series at the Oval.

English skipper Eoin Morgan and Joe Root hit half-centuries to help their side win the first game to go 1-0 up in the series.

Batting first, Australia kept losing wickets in a heap before all-rounders Maxwell and Agar made 62 and 40 respectively to lend respectability to the team total (215).

But the Aussie total was not enough to challenge the powerful batting side, England, who bat deep.

However, the Aussies put up a good fight to take seven English wickets to make the hosts nervous for a while.