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Stuart Broad’s five-wicket haul on the first day of the first Ashes Test put England on top but a lot will depend on how their batsmen go against the Australian bowlers on day two of the Gabba Test.
You can follow the live score of this first Ashes Test between Australia and England here and you can also post your comments and feedback below.
Australia’s decision to bat first was on expected lines. So was their top-order capitulation, which saw them lose five wickets for a mere 61 runs in a period of less than two hours.
It started with Shane Watson’s poke outside the off stump, that saw him nick Broad to the slips before Michael Clarke, David Warner, George Bailey and Steven Smith fell in quick succession to be reduced to 6/132 before tea.
The more things change, the more they remain the same and that’s how things panned out from then on.
With the top-order gone, it was left to the pair of Brad Haddin and Mitchell Johnson to rescue them from the mire.
Both scored half-centuries, taking full advantage of the fact Broad’s spell had ended, and added 114 runs for the seventh wicket.
Broad came on late in the day to send Johnson packing, by which time he had already carved out his eighth half-century and Australia had reached a position of relative safety.
Peter Siddle became the eighth casualty of the day and fifth to edge to the cordon behind him, to end the day at 8/273.
England’s objective will be to simply bowl Australia as quickly as possible and then bat long and hard. Whether they will be able to do that will be dependent on quite a few factors.
One, the top-order needs to get back to their scoring ways. If their batting in the previous Ashes series is anything to go by, the Australian bowling will think they have a chance.
Both Alastair Cook and Jonathon Trott did not have a great time, while Michael Carberry is only in his second Test.
Secondly, there were times during the first day’s play where the pitch looked flat but there were also others when batsmen had to dig their heels in a bid to overcome the difficulties.
The Australian batsmen failed to that effect, but does that mean that England will fare any better?
Most importantly, in Peter Siddle, Ryan Harris and Mitchell Johnson, Australia have three bowlers, each of whom is capable to picking up a bagful.
Johnson’s half-century would have given him the confidence to test out the English top-order with his more controlled pace, while Siddle’s vigour and Harris’ swing will make for some compelling viewing.
First things first though and England would hope to break through the defences of the last two wickets as quickly as possible.
While the difference between a score of 300 and 325 may not be a lot in terms of runs, an extra 45 minutes of being in the field will be temperament-testing.
In fact, on a dry Gabba pitch, chasing a substantial score in the fourth innings could get sticky, which means Nathan Lyon could have a role to play later in the game.
And he will need every one of those runs Haddin, Harris and himself end up scoring on Friday.
An interesting second day of the Ashes summer ahead of us.
Follow the live score of this first Ashes between Australia and England from 10 am AEST. You can post your comments below.
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