Australian bowlers dominate on the first day of the Ashes
Australia gave their English opponents an early ashes on the first day of the first test in a breathtaking bowling performance in Brisbane. Joe Root won the throw and went for the racket, although his plans for England took a turn in the early moments of the session.
Mitchell Starc struck quickly with the first ball in the series, hitting the base of Rory Burns' stump as he shuffled over. It was only the second time a wicket had fallen on the first ball in an Ashes series when Stan Worthington was caught by Bert Oldfield while bowling by Ernest McCormick in 1936.
Josh Hazlewood held down the foot for Australia at the other end and removed Dawid Malan and Joe Root to meet the tourists on 11/3. to stagger.
Ben Stokes and Haseeb Hameed held out until the first drink break, but Captain Pat Cummins removed Stokes with a beauty and, after refreshments, found the left-hander's shoulder. Hameed was joined by Ollie Pope, and the pair dug in despite the efforts of the deployed Nathan Lyon, sitting on 399 test wickets.
Hameed's work was undone immediately after lunch, and Captain Cummins found the ledge again when Steve Smith made a solid catch.
It brought out Jos Buttler, who seemingly channeled his white ball form from the T20 World Cup and countered with a series of punches from both the front and back feet.
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Buttler and Pope ran to a 50-run stand, though any efforts to build on their start ruined a ball after the pair hit the milestone. Buttler, 39, took off on Alex Carey with a good Starc delivery, and Cameron Green enjoyed his first test wicket shortly thereafter, with Pope (35) leading the deep against Josh Hazlewood.
Unable to cause drama in the late innings, England fell to 147, with Pat Cummins leading again by numbers 5/38. As the teams headed for the tea break at the end of the inning, it rained on the ground, causing another disruption to the game.