Watson bowled just a wide delivery at good length and Cook went to hit it through the covers but ended up getting a thin edge for Wade to take an easy catch.
Cook hit 3 fours in his 42-ball 30 and put up a 57-run opening stand with Ian Bell, bringing up England's fifty in the tenth over after winning the toss and opting to bat.
Aussies have a major worry to deal with as skipper Michael Clarke's long-standing back problem has flared up once again, ruling him out for Saturday's match.
England, on the other hand, would be looking to flourish in familiar conditions even though they endured an ODI series loss to a rather weak New Zealand just before the Champions Trophy.
But an overall assessment of their ODI stats would reveal that since 2010, England have won 23 and lost only 11 of the 37 matches they have played at home.
Runs would also be expected from the likes of explosive opener David Warner and Phil Hughes but batting would still be counted as a major weakness of the Australians which every opposition side would look to exploit.
Teams:
England: Alastair Cook (Capt.), Ravi Bopara. Stuart Broad, Joe Root, James Tredwell, James Anderson, Ian Bell, Tim Bresnan, Jos Buttler, Eoin Morgan, Jonathan Trott.
Australia: George Bailey (Capt.), James Faulkner, Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Marsh, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, Shane Watson, Phillip Hughes, Clint McKay, Adam Voges, David Warner.
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