Chris Jordan hails England's unsung heroes after Australia win: "The bowlers in a sense bailed out the batsmen"

JACK BUTLER: A stunning display from the bowling battery turned the first T20 on its head at The Ageas Bowl

• England stun Australia with remarkable comeback in first T20
• ENGLAND V AUSTRALIA FIRST T20 TALKING POINTS

After beating Australia by two runs in an exhilarating T20 international at the Ageas Bowl, Chris Jordan praised England's emphatic bowling display. 

The tourists looked to be on course to take a 1-0 series lead, having reached 124 for 1 in pursuit of 163, with 35 balls remaining, but a stunning bowling display at the death turned the contest around.

“Over the last few years, a lot of the talk is about the batting lineup and how... phenomenal it is. But it was nice last night that the bowlers in a sense bailed out the batsmen”, Jordan, who finished with 0-23 from his three overs and ran out Ashton Agar, told the media.

Jordan spoke highly of his bowling teammates, specifically of a destructive middle-over spell that saw Jofra Archer and Adil Rashid took three wickets in seven deliveries - Steve Smith (18), Glenn Maxwell (1) and David Warner (58) all sent packing.

“We have some extreme pace through the middle and Rashy [Adil Rashid] did his thing," he added. "It puts us in a position where we can win a game like last night.

“When Woody [Mark Wood] and Jof [Jofra Archer] came on in the middle order, that's when it started to change for us; they went at the Aussie batsman...and shifted momentum back in our favour.

“That's why they are the quality that they are, putting on a show, going through their repertoire, running in and bowling quick and unsettling batsmen. It's a benefit for the team because then they [the batsmen] have to take a risk against Rashy...because they're getting nothing [off the seamers].

Defending 30 of 21 balls, England's bowling attack rescued victory when defeat to the No.1 ranked T20 side seemed the only outcome - Jordan commended an impressive final over from fellow death bowler Tom Curran, in which he successfully defended 15. 

^{Chris Jordan and Jofra Archer were playing in just their second T20I for England together}

“Especially in international cricket, the guys coming, in the end, are phenomenal hitters [but] TC's final over was brilliant; he held his nerve, stayed as calm as possible in the situation and executed the plans which was the most important thing”. 

“It's a side we want to beat; obviously we're trying to win every game but beating Australia is...very special”. ”The bowling performance as a whole was spot on.“

In only their second T20 match playing together, Jordan spoke highly of team-mate Archer, expecting his Sussex colleague to bounce back from criticism of his red-ball performances.

“I told him, when I gave him his cap, at the moment he's on a high but he will experience some low points. The character that he has means he will always get through. The biggest thing is that last night the amount of times he was smiling and looked like he was enjoying himself - I started teasing him about touching 95mph”.

England are back in action in the second T20 international against Australia on Sunday (September 6) a match broadcast on terrestrial television via the BBC.

Jordan spoke of his teammates' enthusiasm at the second game of the cricketing summer being made available to the masses: “It's a different audience, people who haven't watched cricket before or people who have to watch highlights - the more people we can get watching the game the better."

For unrivalled coverage of the county season, subscribe to The Cricketer and receive 3 issues for £5