England win by 89 runs despite hitting no sixes—a first in seven years.

England secured an 89-run victory over Sri Lanka in the first ODI of the series at Chester-le-Street. However, a glance at the match scorecard reveals something surprising: England did not hit a single six during their innings.

Such a scenario seems quite out of character for England's aggressive batting style in white-ball cricket. Among the six teams that have hit at least 400 sixes in ODIs over the last five years, England has played the fewest matches. They have struck 431 sixes in 66 games.

Since the beginning of 2019, England has hit 677 sixes in 106 ODIs. During this period, among the three teams that have hit at least 600 sixes, England has played the fewest matches.

England's dominance in hitting sixes when batting first

England's penchant for hitting sixes becomes even more evident in statistics regarding matches where they batted first. Over the last five years, English batsmen have hit 310 sixes while batting first in ODIs—the highest tally during this period.

Counting from January 1, 2019, England's total sixes while batting first stands at 431. Only India—with 434 sixes—is ahead of them in this regard; however, India played five more matches than England during this time.

Given this, witnessing a flurry of sixes from England when batting first is usually the norm. Yet, while scoring 265 runs against Sri Lanka, no one in Harry Brook's team managed to hit a single six.

An occurrence after seven years

The last time an England ODI innings—while batting first—was devoid of sixes was on March 2, 2019. In the fifth ODI of the series against the West Indies in St. Lucia, Eoin Morgan's team was bowled out for 113 runs.

Since then, for seven long years, England had hit at least one six in every ODI innings where they batted first. Between March 3, 2019, and the present, they have hit 407 sixes across 53 matches while batting first. India leads with 418 sixes during this period, though they played five more matches.

Victory without sixes; Jacks' storm with the ball

Despite the absence of sixes, England faced no trouble winning the match. After posting a total of 265 runs, they bowled Sri Lanka out for just 176.

Will Jacks played the pivotal role in England's victory, claiming 5 wickets for just 22 runs with his off-spin. This marks the second-best bowling performance by an English spinner in ODIs.

Back in 1984, English off-spinner Vic Marks took 5 wickets for 20 runs against New Zealand in Wellington; until now, that had stood as the best bowling figure by an English spinner.

The second ODI of the series is scheduled for tomorrow at Headingley. It remains to be seen whether England's batsmen can return to their natural, aggressive rhythm there, following a performance in the first match that lacked any sixes.