JASON ROY brought the smiles back to England’s tour of Australia with a record-breaking 180 today which put the tourists on the front foot for the first time since arriving Down Under.

Having surrendered the Ashes in a 4-0 defeat, England’s limited-overs side were tasked with breathing new life into the trip in the opening match of this one-day series and Roy obliged in staggering fashion to usher in a five-wicket win in Melbourne.

In the space of 151 balls he carved his way to the highest individual total by an England batsman in white-ball cricket, trumping Alex Hales’s 2016 place-holder by nine runs, and led the team in successful pursuit of 305.

That represents their best ever chase against rivals Australia or by any side at this famous venue.

“It was an absolute honour to be out there on the MCG and to get a score like that,” said the Surrey batsman, basking in what could prove a career-defining display.

“It is extremely special, especially after the Test series. It was obviously quite tough because we knew the boys were going to be a bit down and it was our task to come in and lighten up the mood, bring the positivity and get the boys going.

“I think we’ve done that and there’s a lot more smiles going on now.”

Roy jokingly suggested there may be one exception in the away dressing room — the man he has replaced in the history books.

“One of the first things the boys said was about Halesy being pretty disappointed,” he said. “He wasn’t too happy about that by the sounds of things.”