Eoin Morgan admitted England’s abysmal start to their batting came as a “shock” after his first ODI as permanent captain of the side ended in a comprehensive defeat.

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Morgan, who took over the reins from Alastair Cook last month, saw his side lose two wickets in the first three balls against Australia in the first tri-series match.

From there, they were always up against it and even a counter-attacking century from the Irishman himself could not prevent a three-wicket defeat at the SCG – a result that actually flattered the tourists.

“I suppose the overall feeling is very disappointed. Losing wickets so early on in our innings really set us back and I thought from there we did really well to get 234,” he said.

“If we’d have posted 280-plus, we’d have been in with more of a chance in the game, but being 0-2 to start with was a bit of a shock. But Australia are a strong side and they can come up with performances like that, we’ve just got to find a better way of dealing with them.”

Morgan, batting at five, was at the crease in the fourth over after England had fallen to 12 for three and only his contribution of 121 from 136 balls prevented complete embarrassment as they mustered a score of 234 all out in 47.5 overs.

The left-hander has something of a reputation for excelling with the bat when leading the side, averaging 78.28 in his nine matches captaining England compared to his career average of 37.33.

“I can’t exactly put my finger on it. I quite enjoy the distraction of being captain, it entails various different things and takes a bit of emphasis on my own game,” he added.

Despite Chris Woakes impressing with figures of four for 40, Australia never threatened to capitulate and reached the target inside 40 overs, gaining a bonus point.

Indeed, it was their determination to target that extra point that led to them falling from 199 for three to 233 for seven, according to David Warner, whose stylish 127 helped Australia get over the line.

“It was good to score a hundred but we won the game,” he said.

“George (Bailey) asked if we wanted to go for it and we took the powerplay. We did that and we lost a couple of wickets but as we are, we keep backing ourselves.

“Fortunately enough James Faulkner finished it off for us.”