Australia won the first Test in Brisbane in emphatic style as they swept England away in the second innings to take a 10-wicket victory.
Chasing a target of 170, The Baggy Greens got the required runs with ease in the second innings as David Warner 87 not out and debutant Cameron Bancroft unbeaten on 82 saw them home on the fifth morning.
The omen isn’t good for the tourists: only on two previous occasions have England lost the first Test in Australia and gone on to win the Ashes.
Australia beat England by 10 wickets in the first Test
The next Test, a day-nighter in Adelaide, begins on Saturday, so the tourists must re-group quickly both on and off the field. And with news coming out of the camp of Jonny Bairstow alledgedly headbutting Cameron Bancroft in a nightclub a few weeks back, it seems England cannot tour Australia without scandal.
Both men were on the field throughout Monday's play and shook hands at the conclusion of the match. Debutant Bancroft wasn’t as forgiving on the field of play, howver, as he eased home to give the Aussies an emphatic win.
He also hit the winning runs off Chris Woakes as Australia preserved their 29-year unbeaten record at the Gabba.
England need to regroup quickly as the next Test starts on Saturday
Despite the margin of victory, this match was even for the majority of the contest and offers some suggestion the series could be keenly fought.
The first day belonged to England, and although Australia had the better of the second day, it was evenly poised after the third. The differences were the spin of Nathan Lyon, which Moeen Ali just couldn’t replicate, and of course captain marvel Steve Smith. In fact, a stunning 141 not out by Smith arguably kept Australia in it in the first innings.
His celebration at reaching his 21st century was a moment of realisation for the tourists, that Australia mean business, not that they would have thought otherwise.
Steve Smith is in the form of his life
With form like this Smith could go down as one of the all-time greats, and he was obviously happy to maintain Australia’s stunning record at the Gabba.
"It's great we've been able to keep our Gabba record,” said Smith. “We played some really good cricket after losing the toss on what was a really good wicket. Nathan Lyon is bowling as well as I've seen him bowl. He went wicketless in the first innings then got the reward in the second.”
“Davey [Warner] and Cameron were magnificent. I think England have a few newish players that haven't experienced an Ashes series before. The first Test is important and it's nice to get it out of the way but we've got a big ask on our hands at Adelaide."
Joe Root knows England need to up their game
England captain wasn’t too despondent as England will take some positives from the defeat. "It doesn't really feel like a 10-wicket defeat,” said the Yprkshireman. “We came here fully confident we could get the win. For three days we were excellent but missed a couple of chances with bat and ball in the first two innings.”
"Mark and Vincey played outstandingly well. To show that composure, character and skill in their first Ashes Test was exceptional. The wicket got better as the match went on. Steve Smith's knock was incredible - take it out and we would've bowled them out for 150."
Steve Smith is the man England must target in the next Test. The world’s best batsman is in the form of his life and he kept Australia in the Test when England were looking strong. Before taking over the Australian captaincy, he was averaging 51 with the bat. Since he became captain he is averaging 71 in over 20 Tests. So England know what they have to do.
Sources:
www.365.com
www.skysports.com
www.bbc.co.uk
www.imgbb.com
