| First Ash Test, Brisbane (first day of five) |
| England 147 thoroughly: Cummins 5-38 |
| Australia: Still to beat |
| Scorecard |
England’s Ashes campaign began in a depressing and familiar way as tourists were only beaten for 147 by Australia on the show’s opening day at Gabba.
In a moment of instant infamy for Ashes, Rory Burns was knocked down by Mitchell Starc in the series’ very first delivery, immediately undermining English optimism in Brisbane.
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With skipper Joe Root fallen for nothing, England were 11-3, choosing to strike on green-tinged ground offering assistance to rhythm bowlers.
Australia’s attack was relentless, led by Pat Cummins, who won 5-38 on his first day as captain.
Jos Buttler mounted a sort of English counterattack with 39, sharing a position of 52 with Ollie Pope, who made it 35.
Haseeb Hameed, with a vigilant 25, and Chris Woakes, who had 21, were the only other hitters to hit the double.
The miserable batting display hampered the decision to omit Stuart Broad, joining fellow bowler James Anderson on the sidelines, the first time in 15 years that England have played an Ashes Test without at least one d ‘between them.
England was all over the tea, only for a huge storm to wipe out the evening session and prevent Australia’s response from starting, meaning day two will start at 11:30 p.m. GMT.
New ashes, old story
With the bad weather, Covid restrictions and a lack of preparation on both sides amounting to a single build in the series, a gray morning and half-empty Gabba didn’t do much to make it look like a game opener. by Ashes.
However, after just one ball England were reminded why they had lost nine of their last 10 tests in Australia and had not won in Brisbane for 35 years.
Like Steve Harmison’s first delivery to the second slip in 2006 or Nasser Hussain’s decision to line up in 2002, Burns was made into Ashes folklore by a York Starc swinging in the stump of his leg.
Should England have chosen to line up first? The batter started to look easier during the afternoon session when the damage was done.
There will be questions over the decision to omit Broad and Anderson, taken with the rest of the series in mind, although England may have already suffered a crucial blow.
The last two times England have won series in Australia – 1986-87 and 2010-11 – they avoided being beaten in Brisbane. It’s too early to write them off in both this game and the series, but it’s a terrible start.
A fragile stick costs England again
Despite all hopes that the wet conditions in Brisbane and, later, the prospect of two day-night pink ball tests could favor the English bowlers, the fear that the stick would fail too often came true at the earliest opportunity.
As good as Australia bowled and as tough as the first few conditions were, England’s hitters were not equipped to survive.
Burns went too far and exposed his stumps to become the second man in history to compete in the first ball of an Ashes series, joining England’s Thomas Worthington in 1936.
Dawid Malan was caught late after pushing a delivery from Josh Hazlewood, who then got an end-to-end move to take Root’s crucial wicket the captain caught on the first slip.
Ben Stokes, who was returning to the game for the first time since July, was faced off by Cummins, with the local skipper then training Hameed to needlessly play wide after lunch.
Buttler’s counterattack, with practice on the covers, raised hopes and briefly hit Australia from their length.
However, his advantage behind Starc was the start of England losing their last five wickets for 35 races.
Captain Cummins leads the Australian charge
Following the turmoil of Australia’s rise to power – former captain Tim Paine resigned in a texting scandal, then pulled out of the series altogether – it was an almost perfect start for the hosts and the new skipper Cummins.
It was Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood who destroyed England’s stick in Australia’s 4-0 win four years ago, and they once again passed through the tourists finding movement down the length.
While both teams experienced a disturbed build up, it should be noted that the same rhythm trio played significantly in Australia’s T20 World Cup triumph and they showed no signs of rusting. in Brisbane.
They were supported by a secure capture. Newbie Alex Carey, Paine’s replacement behind the stumps, pocketed three, while Hazlewood himself took a good long-leg dive to give Cameron Green his first try-out wicket when Pope lost control of a shot.
Cummins won the last three wickets, a flurry of flat feet from Ollie Robinson, followed by Mark Wood and Woakes falling under the shortball.
Another worrying sign for England is the lower order hitters swept away by Australian bouncers.
‘Difficult to understand Broad decision’
Jonathan Agnew, BBC cricket correspondent: “I was very surprised by the England team. I found this quite hard to believe – a really hard decision to make. You lost James Anderson, even though he was fit to play, we’re told, but you can see why with Adelaide next week you wouldn’t want to risk him.
“Broad is in good shape and he absolutely has that first-rate sign. What would Australia have thought when they saw he wasn’t playing? ”
Ashes winning rhythm launcher Steven Finn on Test Match Special: “England will have imagined their chances of making it through the first hour, when you know there will be tough times. There was evidence there to suggest that the ball jumped over the bat once it lost its hardness. I can understand why England made this decision, but unfortunately it didn’t go well for them. ”
Australian Captain Pat Cummins: “Everything has gone as planned so far. I am proud of all the guys. We remained very calm. I was probably going to have a bat, but I wasn’t sorry to lose the toss. It was 50-50. “
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