Brisbane, December 11
Nathan Lyon captured a long-awaited 400th Test victim and spun Australia to an emphatic nine-wicket victory in the first Ashes Test on Saturday, with England losing eight wickets in a stunning morning collapse on Day 4 at the Gabba ground.
The spin-bowling cult hero grabbed four wickets as England’s batsmen crumbled by lunch, leaving 20 runs for Australia to mow down after the break. Having dominated with bat, ball and in the field, Australia head to Adelaide for the Day/Night Test with a surge of confidence under new captain Pat Cummins.
England, meanwhile, will pore over their failings after another horror show in Brisbane. They have now lost seven of their past nine matches at the Gabba, a venue from which series defeats seem to spring. Question marks hang over England’s selections and tactics, and there seem few ready solutions for their batting woes before the pink-ball Test starts on Thursday.
Great start
Cummins, in his first match as skipper, said he thought someone was smiling over him. “A lot of things did go right, probably from the toss,” he said. “I thought it was a really complete performance. I was really happy that just about everyone fired.”
England resumed on 220 for two, with the match still within their grasp, but lost their last eight wickets for 77 runs to be bowled out for 297. England paceman Ollie Robinson burnished his match stats with the dismissal of wicketkeeper Alex Carey (9), who stood in for opener David Warner as he nursed bruised ribs. But Marcus Harris (nine not out) hit seamer Mark Wood to the fence to complete the rout.
Root frustrated
England captain Joe Root was disappointed after he and Dawid Malan’s big day three partnership proved in vain. However, the match was all but over after Root won the toss and sent his batsmen in to be routed for 147.
“Frustration,” he said. “We worked really hard to get ourselves back in the game last night. It’s a shame that we just couldn’t quite manage to get through that initial phase because it could have been very different.”
Lyon, who took 4/91 for the second innings, had been stranded on 399 wickets since the series-deciding defeat to India in January at the Gabba but wasted no time turning the contest on its head on Saturday. In his second over, the 34-year-old veteran deceived Malan (82) and produced a bat-pad catch to Marnus Labuschagne, breaking a crucial 162-run stand with Root. England promptly lost three wickets for 11 runs with young all-rounder Cameron Green capturing the key wicket of Root for 89, yet again denying him a maiden hundred in Australia.
Brief scores: England: 147 & 297 (Root 89, Malan 82; Lyon 4/91); Australia: 425 & 20/1 (Harris 9 not out; Robinson 1-13). — Reuters
3 RD Lyon is only the third Australian in the 400-wicket club led by Shane Warne (708) and Glenn McGrath (563).
1st The Australian is the first off-spinner from outside Asia and 17th bowler overall to 400 Test wickets.
326days Lyon had the longest wait of all to go from 399 to 400, of 326 days.
1win In their last 10 Tests winning the toss, England have won once, lost seven times and picked up two draws.
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