Root hits 40th Test century and first in Australia - day one report
Starc picks up another six wickets with pink ball
Duckett (0) caught at first slip in opening over; Pope chops on
Second Test, day one, Brisbane
Thanks, Elizabeth.
A very grown-up session of Test cricket from England. You have to tip your hat to Zak Crawley who took plenty of brickbats after a pair in Perth.
Joe Root looks unfailingly like Joe Root so far.
Lunch, tea, the interval - whatever we're calling it, I'm off and probably going hunting for food. I know I can't call it breakfast because I had my cereal at 2am.
Over to Timothy Abraham to take you through the second session.
Glenn McGrath
Ex-Australia bowler on BBC Test Match Special
Image source, Getty ImagesGreat start to the match from England. They lost two quickly and you thought, here we go again. It was their session at the end, they'll be happy with that in the dressing room.
Simon Mann
BBC Test Match Special commentator
Zak Crawley has dominated this morning session really, he's become a more inhibited Zak Crawley.
He'll be enjoying life after that session.
Crawley 61 (80), Root 32 (60)
Zak Crawley drives down the ground for four, plays out two dots and that's lunch! (Or tea, if you're Australian, I think).
The opening 15 minutes were quite hideous from an England perspective, with Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope departing for ducks, but Crawley and Root have rebuilt nicely.
Their partnership is 93 (129).
A quick recap for those of you wiping the sleep from your eyes and joining us for the first time this morning...
England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and decided to make first use of the pitch at the Gabba, but might have feared the worst when England slipped to 5-2.
Inevitably pink ball maestro Mitchell Starc did the early damage, dismissing Ben Duckett with the sixth ball of the innings which was edged to first slip.
Ollie Pope was back in the pavilion for a duck nine balls later when he dragged left-arm quick Starc on to his stumps.
Since then England have managed to steady the ship with Zak Crawley and Joe Root playing in a relatively measured fashion.
Crawley has played the leading hand and has managed to make his 25th Test half-century and his fifth against Australia. He is unbeaten on 57 (74).
Joe Root is also shaping up nicely and is 32 not out off 57 deliveries.
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England need to break this down into mini sessions. Get to lunch. Tire Starc out. Then make hay. Lovely partnership from these two.
Jamie, London
Alex Carey shouts a bit for a possible caught behind against Joe Root. Nope.
A Zak Crawley single is the only scoring shot. Mitchell Starc has 2-26 from eight overs.
Probably only time for one more over before lunch.
Andy Zaltzman
Test Match Special statistician
Image source, Getty ImagesThat was Zak Crawley's 25th Test fifty. He's had five centuries. It's his fifth against Australia in ten Tests and his second fifty in Australia.
Ooops. Slightly iffy moment for Joe Root, who appeared to lose sight of the ball. It beats his edge. He looks a bit sheepish.
No such issues for Zak Crawley, however, who turns Cam Green's penultimate delivery fine for four. A single sees him retain the strike.
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On Hamilton Island, it looks like the locals have gone a bit quiet! Still, 4 runs per over, shows what Bazball has done, as I'm thinking this is restrained.
Andy, Hamilton Island
Zak Crawley and Joe Root's partnership is up to 81 (111). The doom and gloom of those two early wickets feels a long time ago, doesn't it?
Simon Mann
BBC Test Match Special commentator
This is a big moment for Zak Crawley in this Test series. England have kept faith in him and he's responded to his last performance.
Eng 86-2
He made two ducks in Perth but is enjoying himself far more in Brisbane - a pink-ball fifty for Zak Crawley at the Gabba!
He seals it with a single off Mitchell Starc, waves his bat to the dressing room and the crowd, and shares a fist bump with Joe Root.
He has 50 off 68 deliveries, including six boundaries.
Andy Zaltzman
Test Match Special statistician
Apart from the three England centuries in the 2010/11 Ashes series, Mark Butcher's century in 1998 is one of only four other England centuries in an Ashes Test here at the Gabba.
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Image source, Getty ImagesWriting in from a warm Muscat office. How good is it to see Root and Crawley make a stand, not often we get to see these two at the crease together. Hopefully I haven't spoken too soon…
Paddy, Oman
This is a good partnership building! We need to get the bowlers into second and third spells.
Bob, Brisbane
Cameron Green enters the attack and concedes a couple of singles and a boundary. A chasing Brendan Doggett carried the ball into the rope with his body.
Not the finest piece of fielding you'll see. Zak Crawley, moving onto 49, won't mind.
Srinivas Vijaykumar
CricViz analyst
England have played 31% attacking shots so far today - the lowest of the 18 times they've batted first since Brendon McCullum took over in May 2022. In comparison, they averaged 44% in the 17 previous innings and 42% at Perth in the first innings. Despite the measured style of play, they're still scoring at 4.11 runs per over.
Glenn McGrath
Ex-Australia bowler on BBC Test Match Special
The pitch is playing well, I think it will quicken up tomorrow but it will be interesting to see how it plays throughout the rest. I wonder if Australia are regretting the decision to leave out Nathan Lyon.
Image source, Getty ImagesWell Martin in Lima, it's so far, so good for Zak Crawley vs Mitchell Starc. He only faces two balls from the left-armer in the 19th and dots out the first before taking a single.
Joe Root collected a single of his own earlier in the over.
| Batter | Runs | Balls | Dots | 4s | 6s | Minutes | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Crawley,caught Carey, bowled Neser Crawley, caught Carey, bowled Neser | 76 | 93 | 58 | 11 | 0 | 138 | 81.72 |
Duckett,caught Labuschagne, bowled Starc Duckett, caught Labuschagne, bowled Starc | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0.00 |
Pope,bowled Starc Pope, bowled Starc | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.00 |
Root,not out Root, not out | 138 | 206 | 131 | 15 | 1 | 379 | 66.99 |
Brook,caught Smith, bowled Starc Brook, caught Smith, bowled Starc | 31 | 33 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 58 | 93.94 |
Stokes,run out Inglis Stokes, run out Inglis | 19 | 49 | 42 | 4 | 0 | 76 | 38.78 |
Smith,bowled Boland Smith, bowled Boland | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.00 |
Jacks,caught Smith, bowled Starc Jacks, caught Smith, bowled Starc | 19 | 31 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 43 | 61.29 |
Atkinson,caught Carey, bowled Starc Atkinson, caught Carey, bowled Starc | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 133.33 |
Carse,caught Carey, bowled Starc Carse, caught Carey, bowled Starc | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.00 |
Archer,caught Labuschagne, bowled Doggett Archer, caught Labuschagne, bowled Doggett | 38 | 36 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 54 | 105.56 |
Extras, no balls 1, wides 3, byes 4, leg byes 1, total 9 Extras, no balls 1, wides 3, byes 4, leg byes 1, total 9 | |||||||
Total,334 all out 76.2 overs Total,334 all out 76.2 overs |
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Dots | No balls | Wides | 4s | 6s | Economy rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Starc | 20.0 | 0 | 75 | 6 | 79 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 3.75 |
Neser | 14.0 | 3 | 43 | 1 | 61 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 3.07 |
Boland | 19.0 | 1 | 87 | 1 | 77 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 4.57 |
Doggett | 15.2 | 1 | 81 | 1 | 53 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 5.28 |
Green | 8.0 | 1 | 43 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 5.37 |
| Fall of wicket | Batter |
|---|---|
5 for 1 (0.6 overs) | Duckett |
5 for 2 (2.3 overs) | Pope |
122 for 3 (27.5 overs) | Crawley |
176 for 4 (39.2 overs) | Brook |
210 for 5 (54.6 overs) | Stokes |
211 for 6 (55.3 overs) | Smith |
251 for 7 (64.5 overs) | Jacks |
264 for 8 (66.2 overs) | Atkinson |
264 for 9 (66.4 overs) | Carse |
334 for 10 (76.2 overs) | Archer |
| Batter | Runs | Balls | Dots | 4s | 6s | Minutes | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Head,caught Atkinson, bowled Carse Head, caught Atkinson, bowled Carse | 33 | 43 | 30 | 3 | 1 | 59 | 76.74 |
Weatherald,leg before wicket, bowled Archer Weatherald, leg before wicket, bowled Archer | 72 | 78 | 48 | 12 | 1 | 121 | 92.31 |
Labuschagne,caught Smith, bowled Stokes Labuschagne, caught Smith, bowled Stokes | 65 | 78 | 52 | 9 | 1 | 116 | 83.33 |
Smith,caught Jacks, bowled Carse Smith, caught Jacks, bowled Carse | 61 | 85 | 59 | 5 | 2 | 157 | 71.76 |
Green,bowled Carse Green, bowled Carse | 45 | 57 | 37 | 7 | 0 | 97 | 78.95 |
Carey,caught Smith, bowled Atkinson Carey, caught Smith, bowled Atkinson | 63 | 69 | 36 | 6 | 0 | 128 | 91.30 |
Inglis,bowled Stokes Inglis, bowled Stokes | 23 | 25 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 36 | 92.00 |
Neser,caught Smith, bowled Stokes Neser, caught Smith, bowled Stokes | 16 | 41 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 55 | 39.02 |
Starc,caught Stokes, bowled Carse Starc, caught Stokes, bowled Carse | 77 | 141 | 106 | 13 | 0 | 154 | 54.61 |
Boland,not out Boland, not out | 21 | 72 | 61 | 3 | 0 | 152 | 29.17 |
Doggett,caught Brook, bowled Jacks Doggett, caught Brook, bowled Jacks | 13 | 21 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 61.90 |
Extras, no balls 5, wides 6, byes 4, leg byes 7, total 22 Extras, no balls 5, wides 6, byes 4, leg byes 7, total 22 | |||||||
Total,511 all out 117.3 overs Total,511 all out 117.3 overs |
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Dots | No balls | Wides | 4s | 6s | Economy rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Archer | 25.0 | 3 | 87 | 1 | 109 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 3.48 |
Atkinson | 28.0 | 6 | 114 | 1 | 120 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 0 | 4.07 |
Carse | 29.0 | 3 | 152 | 4 | 115 | 2 | 5 | 16 | 3 | 5.24 |
Stokes | 24.0 | 0 | 113 | 3 | 93 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 4.70 |
Jacks | 11.3 | 2 | 34 | 1 | 51 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2.95 |
| Fall of wicket | Batter |
|---|---|
77 for 1 (13.1 overs) | Head |
146 for 2 (25.5 overs) | Weatherald |
196 for 3 (37.1 overs) | Labuschagne |
291 for 4 (56.1 overs) | Green |
292 for 5 (56.4 overs) | Smith |
329 for 6 (63.5 overs) | Inglis |
383 for 7 (75.6 overs) | Neser |
416 for 8 (82.6 overs) | Carey |
491 for 9 (110.2 overs) | Starc |
511 for 10 (117.3 overs) | Doggett |
| Batter | Runs | Balls | Dots | 4s | 6s | Minutes | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Crawley,caught and bowled Neser Crawley, caught and bowled Neser | 44 | 59 | 39 | 6 | 0 | 104 | 74.58 |
Duckett,bowled Boland Duckett, bowled Boland | 15 | 18 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 83.33 |
Pope,caught and bowled Neser Pope, caught and bowled Neser | 26 | 32 | 23 | 4 | 0 | 46 | 81.25 |
Root,caught Carey, bowled Starc Root, caught Carey, bowled Starc | 15 | 36 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 41.67 |
Brook,caught Carey, bowled Boland Brook, caught Carey, bowled Boland | 15 | 21 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 43 | 71.43 |
Stokes,caught Carey, bowled Neser Stokes, caught Carey, bowled Neser | 50 | 152 | 120 | 4 | 0 | 229 | 32.89 |
Smith,caught Carey, bowled Starc Smith, caught Carey, bowled Starc | 4 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 36.36 |
Jacks,caught Smith, bowled Neser Jacks, caught Smith, bowled Neser | 41 | 92 | 59 | 2 | 0 | 183 | 44.57 |
Atkinson,caught Smith, bowled Doggett Atkinson, caught Smith, bowled Doggett | 3 | 13 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 23.08 |
Carse,caught Smith, bowled Neser Carse, caught Smith, bowled Neser | 7 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 70.00 |
Archer,not out Archer, not out | 5 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 55.56 |
Extras, no balls 1, wides 2, byes 8, leg byes 5, total 16 Extras, no balls 1, wides 2, byes 8, leg byes 5, total 16 | |||||||
Total,241 all out 75.2 overs Total,241 all out 75.2 overs |
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Dots | No balls | Wides | 4s | 6s | Economy rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Starc | 18.0 | 2 | 64 | 2 | 73 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3.55 |
Neser | 16.2 | 2 | 42 | 5 | 75 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2.57 |
Doggett | 17.0 | 2 | 56 | 1 | 71 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3.29 |
Boland | 17.0 | 4 | 47 | 2 | 79 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2.76 |
Green | 5.0 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
Head | 1.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
Labuschagne | 1.0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.00 |
| Fall of wicket | Batter |
|---|---|
48 for 1 (7.4 overs) | Duckett |
90 for 2 (17.1 overs) | Pope |
97 for 3 (21.2 overs) | Crawley |
121 for 4 (26.3 overs) | Root |
123 for 5 (29.3 overs) | Brook |
128 for 6 (32.3 overs) | Smith |
224 for 7 (69.1 overs) | Jacks |
227 for 8 (71.5 overs) | Stokes |
231 for 9 (72.3 overs) | Atkinson |
241 for 10 (75.2 overs) | Carse |
| Batter | Runs | Balls | Dots | 4s | 6s | Minutes | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Head,bowled Atkinson Head, bowled Atkinson | 22 | 22 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 28 | 100.00 |
Weatherald,not out Weatherald, not out | 17 | 23 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 51 | 73.91 |
Labuschagne,caught Smith, bowled Atkinson Labuschagne, caught Smith, bowled Atkinson | 3 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 50.00 |
Smith,not out Smith, not out | 23 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 255.56 |
Extras, no balls 0, wides 0, byes 4, leg byes 0, total 4 Extras, no balls 0, wides 0, byes 4, leg byes 0, total 4 | |||||||
Total,69 for 2 10.0 overs Total,69 for 2 10.0 overs |
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Dots | No balls | Wides | 4s | 6s | Economy rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Archer | 5.0 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5.60 |
Atkinson | 5.0 | 0 | 37 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7.40 |
| Fall of wicket | Batter |
|---|---|
37 for 1 (5.5 overs) | Head |
41 for 2 (7.3 overs) | Labuschagne |