On day four of the first Ashes Test at the Gabba, a ruthless Australia smashed England by nine wickets to win by nine wickets.
Australia cruised to the goal in 5.1 overs after bowling England out for 297 in their second innings — with Nathan Lyon taking his 400th Test wicket — after Marcus Harris square-droved Mark Wood for a boundary.
The only blemish was the dismissal of substitute starter Alex Carey, who was caught behind off Ollie Robinson’s bowling.
David Warner, the regular opener, was unable to bat owing to a rib injury he sustained after being hit twice by Wood in the opening innings.
The second Test, which begins on Thursday in Adelaide, will give Australia a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
“A lot of things went right,” Pat Cummins, who was making his Test debut, remarked.
“It seemed that someone was smiling at me.” I’m quite proud of everyone; I felt it was an outstanding performance.”
After getting shredded with both bat and ball at the Gabba, England will need to regroup.
England struggled with the ball after being bowled out for 147 in the first innings, with player of the match Travis Head (152), Warner (94) and Marnus Labuschagne (74) all pounding the English attack, particularly left-arm spinner Jack Leach.
The visitors fought back on the third day with a strong partnership between skipper Joe Root and Dawid Malan, but their resistance disintegrated once they both fell early on Saturday.
We fought so hard last night to get back into the game, and we realised how vital this first session was, so we were frustrated “Root remarked.
“We would have had a great chance to go in and make a total that would have kept us in the game if we had made it to the new ball uninjured and continued that partnership ahead.
“It’s a shame we couldn’t go through that first phase (today), because things could have turned out quite differently.”
– England collapses once more –
The English lost eight for 77 in the prolonged opening session after starting the morning with a reasonable position of 220-2.
At the Gabba, England’s batting woes were mirrored in the broadcast facility, where a power outage knocked off the worldwide television feed for 45 minutes.
During this time, no wickets were taken, but Lyon struck when the broadcast issues were eventually rectified.
On Friday, the 34-year-old off-spinner appeared ineffective in his quest for his 400th wicket.
But he finally broke through when Malan got an inside edge on his pad and the ball flew up to Labuschagne at silly mid-off, eliciting raucous applause across the Gabba. Malan scored 82 points.
Lyon became only the 16th player in the world to reach 400 Test wickets, and only the third Australian after Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, in his 101st Test.
In the next over, England were rocked when Root, on 89, blew at a Cameron Green ball outside off stump and got a thin edge to wicketkeeper Carey, leaving England 229-4 and Root still seeking for his first Test century in Australia.
Lyon struck again when he got a ball to bite and spring off the Gabba pitch, taking the thick edge of Ollie Pope’s bat, with Steve Smith scooping an easy catch at slip.
As Australia received the new ball, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler attempted to steady the ship, but Cummins came on and had quick success.
Cummins squared up Stokes with a beast of a ball that took the outside edge and sailed to Green in the gully, reducing England to 266-6.
Two runs later, Josh Hazlewood, who had been hampered by an injury after failing to bowl after tea on Friday, pulled a small edge from Buttler to send England reeling.
Robinson joined Chris Woakes at the crease, and the two put on an 18-run partnership to force Australia to bat again.
Robinson, on the other hand, attempted a reverse sweep against Lyon and spooned a straightforward catch to Head at backward square leg.
Lyon bowled Wood, who had attempted an outrageous drive, for his fourth wicket just before the scheduled lunch break.
The umpires decided to play an extra 30 minutes before lunch because they were down nine wickets, and Green lost little time in catching Woakes.
After the lunch break, Australia took the lead and won in just 20 minutes.
Stokes is struggling, and Root made a poor decision.
The first Ashes Test between Australia and England was won by Australia by nine wickets at Brisbane on Saturday. AFP Sport examines what we learned from the first encounter of a five-match series:
– Mistake in strategy –
England’s choice to skip their two best wicket-takers for the first Test proved divisive and costly.
Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad, both fast bowling stalwarts, with a combined total of 1,156 Test wickets yet were left out.
Ricky Ponting, the former Australian captain, was taken aback, especially after Broad took out dangerman David Warner seven times during the recent Ashes series.
Ollie Robinson, Chris Woakes, and the ever-dangerous Mark Wood toiled away, but all-rounder Ben Stokes’ participation was limited due to a knee complaint, so they had to fight hard for their wickets.
The British media slammed left-arm spinner Jack Leach, who was preferred to Broad, and ridiculed him, with predictions that he might not play another Ashes Test. Their other spin choice is Dom Bess.
Broad and Anderson are anticipated to play in the second day-night Test in Adelaide next week, where the weather is expected to be even better than in Brisbane.
– toss-up –
Winning the coin toss might be a huge advantage, but not if you make the wrong decision.
England skipper Joe Root’s choice to bat first on a greenish Gabba surface that traditionally favours bowlers backfired, as the squad was skittled for 147 on the opening day, earning him harsh criticism.
Nasser Hussain, a former England captain, claimed it wasn’t completely Root’s fault, and Australian skipper Pat Cummins said he would have batted first as well.
“It was a green pitch and it had been raining,” Hussain told Sky Sports. “While everyone is focused on what the pitch is doing on the first morning, as a captain you have to think about what the pitch will look like on days three, four, and five.”
“Due to the humidity, pitch cracks, and the fact that it tends to get a little faster, you have to plan ahead.”
“However, 147 all out tells you that you made the wrong decision.”
Scoreboard
England first innings 147 (J. Buttler 39; P. Cummins 5-38)
Australia first innings 425 (Head 152, Warner 94, Labuschagne 74; Robinson 3-58, Wood 3-85)
England second innings 297 (Root 89, Malan 82; Lyon 4-91)
Australia second innings
A. Carey c Buttler b Robinson 9
M. Harris not out 9
M. Labuschagne not out 0
Extras (2nb) 2
Total (1 wicket; 5.1 overs) 20
Fall of wickets: 1-16 (Carey)
Did not bat: S. Smith, T. Head, D. Warner, C. Green, P. Cummins, M. Starc, N. Lyon, J. Hazlewood
Bowling
Robinson 3-0-13-1 (2nb), Woakes 2-0-3-0, Wood 0.1-0-4-0
Toss: England
Result: Australia won by nine wickets
Player of the match: Travis Head
Umpires: Paul Reiffel (AUS), Rod Tucker (AUS)
TV Umpire: Paul Wilson (AUS)
Match Referee: David Boon (AUS
