Australia‘s new coach Justin Langer compared England‘s powerhouse top order of Jonny Bairstow, Jason Roy and Alex Hales to the famed trio of his contemporary compatriots – Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting who were an irresistible force for so long.

England stunned the cricketing world by amassing 481-6 against Australia in the third ODI in Trent Bridge on Tuesday. Hales (147), Bairtsow (139) and Roy (82) helped England register the highest ever score in men’s ODI, surpassing their own record of 444-3. England ended up crushing Australia by 242 runs.

“I’ve got massive respect for England and the way they are playing their cricket,” 47-year-old Langer said.

“Their top three (Roy, Bairstow and Hales) are brutal,” said Langer. “The way they are playing is reminiscent of how we used to play in our day with Gilly, Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting at the top.”

“It’s a shock,” Langer said after the thrashing that lost the Aussies the ODI series. “That is literally England at its best. It’s no fluke that they are No1 in the world.

“I’ve never seen nothing like that. I was in Johannesburg when Australia got 400 and South Africa then got it, but that was just brutal. Hopefully our young guys can learn from it – it doesn’t get harder than that.”