England declared at 393-8 in a pulsating first day of the Ashes at Edgbaston, with Australia ending the day 14-0 in response.
Joe Root scored an excellent hundred for the hosts, while Jonny Bairstow and Zak Crawley also made important fifties.
Pat Cummins was the only bowler to go wicketless for the visitors, with Nathan Lyon the pick of the attack after prising four important scalps.
Despite a poor record against Stuart Broad, David Warner ended the day unbeaten on eight, with his opening partner Usman Khawaja on four.
Here, Mail Sport’s David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd takes you through the day’s action from Edgbaston.
Joe Root scored a stunning hundred on day one of the Ashes, as England declared at 393-8
He hit two outrageous reverse scoops, both for six, on his way to an unbeaten 118
Keep it simple!
I noticed in the morning that most of the batters were closely examining the pitch, prodding at it, looking at the wind direction and all sorts. It was all part of the nerves.
I recall Bob Simpson, the great Australian opener and coach who would say that when you first start playing, you just go out and bat – it’s a very simple game. As your career progresses, you start to look at the pitch, the wind direction, the length of grass and make it a complicated game. Keep it simple.
What sport are we here for?
Both teams opted for some leisurely rounds of golf before they got to Edgbaston. Could you imagine Rory McIlroy, Matt Fitzpatrick and Rickie Fowler having a net before they got on the first tee at the US Open?
In the warm-ups here, we had England playing keepie-uppies with the football to Australia messing around with a Sherrin, which they use in Aussie Rules. There were even tennis rackets on the outfield. And hardly a cricket bat in sight!
Smith still in control
In the second over of the day, Australia had four slips to Zak Crawley. By ball three, that changed to two slips, a gully and a man for the drive on the off-side. All of this was instigated by the man at second slip.
None other than Steve Smith – who to me, looked like he was leading the side throughout the day with all his field changes.
Pat Cummins may be Australian captain, but Steve Smith still looks in charge when it comes to field placements
Zak Crawley set the tone for the series by thrashing the first ball away for four, as Australia looked spooked by England’s aggression
Bazball spooks the Aussies
As early as the 12th over, it was time for a bit of Adele because Australia were ‘Rolling in the Deep’. They had a deep long on, a deep midwicket, a deep backward point and a deep square leg.
Usually, they attack but they were spooked by England’s fast start and a couple of overs later, they didn’t appeal when replays showed that Crawley had nicked Scott Boland’s delivery. How very un-Australian?!
A mixed set of sponsors
Advertising boards are of course big business in live sport and so my eyes were drawn to the sponsor Hobgoblin, which is an IPA brewed by the Wychwood Brewery. It’s a cheeky little number, coming in at five per cent.
Right underneath the Hobgoblin advertisement however was the Vitality advertisement which tells us: ‘Sharing the benefits of healthy living.’
Lyon hounded by the Hollies
There’s no hiding after tea, especially if you’re fielding in front of the Hollies Stand at Edgbaston. Nathan Lyon found himself down there and was subjected to a whole range of verbals including: ‘You’re just a sh*t Moeen Ali’. But trust me, Lyon will have a huge part to play in this series and his four wickets showed exactly why.
Root shows his class
It was yet another sublime century from Joe Root. We’ve seen it all before and he was class throughout, first in that guiding partnership with Harry Brook and then with England vulnerable at 176 for five, a scintillating partnership with Jonny Bairstow with two outrageous shots for six.
Some sort of scoop, ramp, shovel or whatever they call it these days. What a player.
Ben Stokes’ late declaration was unprecedented, and entirely unsurprising as he continues to shake Test cricket up
Brave declaration from Stokes
To go and declare on the first day of an Ashes Test match is unprecedented! The sheer effrontery of it by Ben Stokes.
But are we at all surprised? It’s nothing new. The extraordinary thing is that he’s got Joe Root in unbeaten on 118 so it is a huge call. This England side is turning Test cricket on its head!
I got to my hotel the night before the Test match and got asked at reception by the lady whether I was with ‘Five Guys’ so I said, ‘No I’m by myself.’
So she then asked, ‘No – are you at the Five Guys convention?’ To which I replied, ‘Are they a band? What kind of music do they make?’ Her response: ‘They make hamburgers’.
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