HEAD ON A PLATE

Hotshot Travis ruins Harry's party

- MIKE WALTERS

HARRY BROOK'S first sip from the poisoned chalice was pure cyanide as England were destroyed by the new 'Universe Boss' at Trent Bridge.

On his first outing as captain, Brook's attack was put to the sword by Travis Head as the Aussies romped home by seven wickets with six overs in hand to go 1-0 up in the five-match Metro Bank One-Day International series.

Head celebrated his sixth ODI century by perching his helmet on his raised bat handle like former West Indies opener Chris Gayle, who christened himself 'Universe Boss' because his clean hitting was out of this world.

Head said: "It's a private joke and I'd prefer to keep it in the sheds. But I hope I can do it a few more times in this series." Brook absolved England's gung-ho batsmen after a middle-order collapse saw a procession of big hitters hole out against the Aussies' nagging spinners.