Despite a poor recent track record where they lost 10 of their last 11 ODIs to England, Australia dominated the game from the start, leaving the hosts struggling at 26/3.
Although England's fearless approach to batting has pushed them to the top of the ODI rankings, there are growing concerns that their top-order players lack the adaptability to play differently when the situation demands it.
England's instability was evident when Jonny Bairstow played a sloppy hook shot to Behrendorff and was dismissed; it took a 71-run partnership between Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler (25) to bring some stability back to the innings.
Jonny Bairstow, for example, fell next to a careless hook off Behrendorff before Stokes and Jos Buttler (25) repaired some of the damage with a fifth-wicket stand of 71.
Earlier in the game, Aaron Finch—who was let off the hook after being dropped on 15—and David Warner (53) navigated a difficult start to build a 123-run opening stand, taking advantage of the fact that most English bowlers, except for Chris Woakes, were bowling too short.
Finch managed to reach his hundred following a fielding error by Woakes, but his innings ended immediately after when he mistimed a hook off Jofra Archer, resulting in a catch for Woakes at fine leg.