England are looking to level the Ashes series at the Gabba after losing the first Test at Perth last month, and here’s what you may have missed from the first day of the second Test so far
England fans will be forgiven for heading back to bed after Mitchell Starc claimed his first wicket of the day in the opening over of the series. When he claimed his second after just nine deliveries, it looked like we were going to be in for another quick Test match.
The Three Lions were 5-2 with Zak Crawley and Joe Root at the crease after another masterclass from the Aussie pace bowler. However, the England duo fought back with Crawley putting on 61* and Root adding 32* at the interval at tea.
Here, Mirror Sport takes a look at some of the key talking points you might have missed from the opening session. While you can follow our live blog here.
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Australia’s bold selection call
The hosts made the surprise decision to leave out spinner Nathan Lyon for the first time in Test match on Australian soil since 2012. Only the legendary duo Shane Warne and Glen McGrath boast more wickets than the 38-year-old.
Lyon needs just two wickets to surpass McGrath’s 562 and move into second place on the list. However, he’ll have to wait with Australia deciding not to play a spinner.
“It really took me by surprise,” former England quick Stuart Broad said on broadcast duties with Seven. “On that teamsheet, Nathan Lyon feels a big miss.
“England bring in a spinner, Australia leave out the spinner. It feels an odd one but selectors are judged on results. If Australia go and win, we’ll certainly never talk about it again.”
“I think it’s a mistake, I really do,” said former Australia opener Matthew Hayden.
There was also no place in the XI for captain Pat Cummins, despite leaving it late to name their side. The captain has struggled with his fitness, and there had been speculation suggesting the 32-year-old may be passed fit.
When asked about the selection, stand-in captain Steve Smith said: “Pat was close. He’s done everything right. We thought it might have been a little bit risky for this game but he’s tracking well for the next one.
“With the pink ball, we think it’s going to offer quite a bit, particularly later on under lights. We play in the night a lot and thought that was going to be the best attack to take 20 wickets in this fixture.”
England’s top order record so far
It’s been a series to forget for England’s top order so far, and we’re only two Test matches in. For all the brilliance of the Australian left-arm pace bowler, Mitchell Starc, there are serious questions that need to be asked.
After just three overs, England were 5-2, and Starc had taken two wickets from just nine deliveries, dispatching Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope for ducks. That means every one of England’s top five has registered a duck in one of the first three innings of the Ashes.
It’s an incredible statistic, and England need more from their key players if they want to bring the Urn home. Duckett’s dismissal was a prod outside the off-stump, while Pope was caught out by the bounce and chopped on.
Much like the first test, England were playing shots that didn’t need to be hit. Former spinner Phil Tufnell summed up the feelings of fans just three overs in.
Speaking on BBC Test Match Special, Tufnell said: “A bit of extra bounce, just outside of off stump, do you need to be cutting that? You’ve got to leave it. I know it’s difficult and the pressure cooker of Test cricket but it’s a poor shot.
“The drag on is a wicket in Australia because of that extra bounce. Australia will be absolutely delighted with losing the toss. I bet England wished they had lost it now.”
Broad described Pope’s wicket as a gift during his commentary duties with Aussie broadcaster Seven. Pope averages just 16.2 Down Under from nine innings and the first innings dismissal was pretty predictable.
Mitchell Starc masterclass
Travis Head may have stolen the headlines for his once-in-a-lifetime knock in the second innings for Australia at Perth, but it was Starc who set the ball rolling.
The 35-year-old has taken 26 wickets in the first over of the innings in his career, three of those coming in this Ashes series.
There’s a reason Starc is one of the most feared bowlers in the world and undoubtedly the best with a pink ball in hand.
After two in the first session of the day, Starc moves on to 83 wickets with the pink ball, the best of any bowler by some stretch.
Precious partnership
With England two down and just five runs on the board, they needed a response and got one from Crawley and Root. They put on 74 from 100 deliveries and left way more balls than they had in previous innings, playing just 31% attacking shots at that stage.
It was the lowest of the 18 times they’ve batted first under Brendon McCullum since he took charge in 2022 and down from the 42% in the first innings at Perth.
That being said, they still had a run rate of 4.12. If that didn’t tell you everything you needed to know about the wicket being batter friendly, what will?
England ended the first session at 98-2 and former Aussie pace bowler McGrath gave that session to the tourists.
Watch the Ashes live on TNT Sports
The Ashes gets underway on November 21 and all the action in the battle between England and Australia will be broadcast live on TNT Sports. Fans can tune in via discovery+ or Prime Video’s TNT Sports channel.
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