Some more reading to further digest events. Ali Martin’s report:
and Geoff’s colour:
The Guardian is funded by readers like you. We are entirely independent – there is no billionaire owner or proprietor who can censor what we write about. We are also free from a paywall, and everything we publish is open and available for all, regardless of means or status. But we rely on contributions from readers like you to power our journalism. If you’d like to support our work, you can do so here.
Day one stumps: England 147 all out
One swallow does not a summer make and all that, but this was a limp opening act by England. That first-baller for Rory Burns - an anxiety dream made real- kick-started a doddering batting performance, sparked into life only when Ollie Pope and Jos Buttler went on the counter-attack, with bit parts for Haseeb Hameed and Chris Woakes.
Australia’s bowlers were brilliant: ruthless, attacking, relentless, led by Captain Midas himself, Pat Cummins. And the weather prevented England from making any headway with the ball.
Tomorrow, play starts at 9.30am at the Gabba, 11.30 GMT, with dampness in the pitch offering England’s bowlers hope. Do join us. Thanks for all the messages, sorry we couldn’t answer them all. With a brand new entry in the Ashes first-ballers history book, it is time for breakfast. Good evening/day!
Updated
Stumps! England 147 all out
And so endeth the first day.
Not the TMS link, but a great tip from Mark Putt, thank you!
“I live in Singapore.....a friend alerted me to the fact that the ICC are streaming the Ashes, outside the UK I suspect. It’s $19.99 for the series!”
Bad light currently stopping play - the teams need to get back out in ten minutes or it is stumps for the day
Not too hopeful.
Overseas TMS link request
Can anyone help Matt Dale?
Wednesday breakfast summary: a Full English nightmare
For any bleary-eyed readers just waking up in the UK, allow us to bring you up to speed:
- England win the toss and chose to bat first at the Gabba.
- Mitchell Starc bowls Rory Burns around his legs with the first ball of the day.
- Big wickets of Joe Root (0) and Ben Stokes (6) follow shortly after as England fall to 29-4.
- Jos Buttler top scores for England with 39. Just three other players reach double figures.
- England bowled out for 147 as new Australia captain Pat Cummins takes five wickets.
- Rain hits Brisbane and play is halted.
Updated
Reasons to be cheerful number one: the Kookaburra has a more prominent seam.
.@bowlologist explains the changes to the Kookaburra ball and how it should help bowlers #Ashes pic.twitter.com/0ZXqr0nmsW
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 8, 2021
Updated
We think they’ll be back on in another 20-30 mins, if there is no further rain. It does, though, still look rather dark.
Update @tjaldred fr the Gabba! Stopped raining, covers are off (Ish) but it's still pretty dark. Could be good for the bowlers (fingers crossed) pic.twitter.com/iSnH1UrrM1
— Shinyi (@MissGrumpyOink) December 8, 2021
Updated
Mitchell Starc
“You can say I carried on because I probably did. That is Ashes cricket, a heightened sense of everything. It was great to have, close to a full house, sounded like it was. You are playing at home in front of a crowd to kickstart the Ashes Series, A few emotions going around and a lot of smiles. Nice to get that first one out of the [way] and we’ve had a pretty decent day.
“A yorker is a big part of my game, to be fast and swing it and attack the stumps. To have some luck and get him around his legs was nice to see.
“[Pat] has been great. He hasn’t changed much from the Pat Cummins the bowler. He is calm and collected, simple messaging. He didn’t say too much when we came out to start the innings today, do what we need to do and stick to our guns. He has been awesome, pretty chilled which showed in all its cricket since he started and I’m sure he will keep doing the same. It’s easy when the day goes really well but at the same time he’s been sensational this week keeping the messaging simple. He has great people around him, Steve has done it for a long time, a pretty settled group or guys who have known each other for a long time and amongst the bowlers as well which is fantastic.”
The rain has stopped!
The covers are soggy but the umpires are inspecting. Glenn McGrath thinks England will be split as to whether they want to have a quick bowl this evening: nothing to lose v the ball going soggy.
Weather update: still damp
Pat Cummins is huddling, arms folded, under an umbrella.
Morning @tjaldred
— Harry Lang (@MrHarryLang) December 8, 2021
What's worse, waking up to this dismal shower of a batting display by England or the absence of fan loyalty made manifest by my total lack of surprise at our inevitable collapse?
I've had coffee. Stokes is back. Nothing's impossible. Panic over. Let's resume!
Coffee-fuelled optimism - that’s exactly what England need. I’m a bit worried though that Wood’s pace could be dented by a damp pitch if they get on later today.
“Root’s decision to have a bat at the Gabba is like the antimatter version of Nasser Hussain’s decision to have a bowl,” writes Yum. “If those two decisions ever come into contact the Gabba could be obliterated.”
Very good! Though, there is a chance, isn’t there, that Australia might do their own impression of a folding chair against Wood and Woakes? The dog, who has now stolen the blanket, sighs next to me.
IF you’ve just hauled yourself out of bed early, you can probably safely crawl back for another half hour. It is raining at The Gabba, the umpires are examining the puddles under umbrellas and - despite its excellent drainage - we could be off for the day.
I’ve been rather enjoying Steve Harmison’s dissection of fast bowling on BT sport - he’s not a natural but is very enthusiastic explaining his craft. And an excellent explanation comes in on Alastair Cook’s still-cherubic looks.
@tjaldred Wasn't Chef famous for not sweating? Perhaps all that retained moisture keeps his skin nicely moisturized from inside? Might explain the jack of wrinkles.
— markzip (@markzip) December 8, 2021
Meanwhile Ali Mitchell is doing a mini tinkly-piano documentary on the history of The Ashes. She’s excellent - I see her with her own Michael Portillo-esque travel show ahead.
Rain has stopped play - England 147 all out.
The rain, it poureth.
“Morning Tanya.” Hello Kerrith Britland!
“I’ve been up watching since Butler and Pope were together. Nice of England to help Pat ease into the captaincy role.
However stupid this might sound, i think the England bowling attack is up there with the best in the world right now. At least we get to bowl twice!? Right!?!?
Right! The only thing is, we aren’t playing two of them....
Fair play to Pat Cummins though. A lovely guy, smiley, handsome, brilliant, outspoken about climate change, thrust the captaincy, loses the toss, takes his first Ashes five-fer.
Bowlers to take a 5-for on 1st day as Test captain:
— Andrew Samson (@AWSStats) December 8, 2021
5-19 CA Smith Eng v SA Port Elizabeth 1889
5-35 GOB Allen Eng v Ind Lord's 1936
7-52 Imran Khan Pak v Eng Birmingham 1982
5-38 PJ Cummins Aus v Eng Brisbane 2021
Many thanks to our OBO’ers on the ground who are reporting back on the conditions. It doesn’t look great, to be honest.
Doesn't look good @tjaldred
— Shinyi (@MissGrumpyOink) December 8, 2021
: covers + lights are on, severe thunderstorm warning, looking v ominous, quite windy, and it's just started raining! pic.twitter.com/o5HqKKT66E
and
@tjaldred I live a few km west of the Gabba and this is one of the worst storms of the hot season so far. A lot of water in a short time. If play resumes today, the outfield will be very heavy.
— The Hand Of Fear (@TheHandOfFear) December 8, 2021
I want to know what Alastair Cook’s beauty secret is. He doesn’t seem to have a single line.
Anyway, Don E writes: “The only thing missing for Australia in that innings was Lyon not getting his 400th wicket.” I just had to check that - I didn’t think it could possibly be true . It is!
Dan Ellis-Jones writes of ex-pat pain:
“So I pop out into the staff car park at lunch, here in Perth, where the sun is beating down on a 40C degree day, only to find the English team struggling against an Aussie side that should be in turmoil.
“My question is: Doesn’t the English team consider the poor British ex-pats in Australia who have to put up with all sorts from their Australian cousins at times of English cricket frailty? My usual retort, especially being in Perth is… yeah, but how many F1 titles has Lewis Hamilton won, and how many had Danny Ric won???
“I hope the pitch turns out to be a great bowling pitch and we bundle the Aussies out for 56.”
They’re so unthinking aren’t they? One of my brothers lives in Sydney and he has already said that he is very grateful for home working right now. Still, you did get to escape the wind and rain of a British December.. though as I say that, we flash back to the Gabba, where the covers are on, the rain is spearing down and the puddles are building.
Tea England 147 all out
I’ve just heard our OBO’er Geoff Lemon on the radio say that there is electricity in the air and a storm approaching. Glenn McGrath, who doesn’t look like Glenn McGrath, is reporting from underneath an umbrella and is struggling to hold it straight against the wind. We will have a pause to gather our thoughts/lick our wounds. Do send me any musings.
Well ...
What a morning! Losing the toss turned out to be a masterstroke for Cummins, who would also have batted. The conditions were helpful, his bowlers on song, and England under-cooked. The fifth lowest total batting first at the Gabba is not the start Root was looking for. Alastair Cook thinks it was a 300 wicket, Steve Harmison thinks Australia’s success came from whacking the deck, not kissing it. We watch and wait. Kudos to Jos Buttler and Ollie Pope though, and to the early stonewalling from Hameed and a late flurry from Woakes. Time to quickly boil the kettle.
WICKET! Woakes c Hazlewood b Cummins 21 (England 147 all out)
Woakes takes on the bouncer, Cummins has his five-fer! Another great smash-and grab catch on the boundary by Hazlewood. Cummins pulls on his baggy-green, holds up the ball and is carried off the field on a sea of applause.
50th over: England 147-9 (Leach 2, Woakes 21) Lyon, chewing gum, shaven headed and long-sleeved, tempts and twirls, but no gold.
“Morning Tanya.” Morning Kim Thonger! “Thrilled to join the fun as I wake up and find these two in with a good shot at exceeding England’s all time highest tenth wicket partnership of 198 by Root and Anderson”
https://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/records/283526.html
Ha!
49th over: England 146-9 (Leach 2, Woakes 20) Cummins has three balls to try and pick up his five-fer but Leach isnt playing. RESOLUTE.
@tjaldred I remember watching Mitchell Johnson eating England for breakfast at the Gabba on a similar cold New York night. There used to be an Aussie bar with a big screen that showed the Tests all night pre-COVID, not for the faint hearted but memorable.
— Nicholas Mirzoeff (@nickmirzoeff) December 8, 2021
I bet! Sounds wonderful.
WICKET! Wood c Harris b Cummins 8 (England 144-9)
Snaffled at short leg, fending off a snorter aimed at the ribs.
48th over: England 143-8 (Wood 8, Woakes 19) The camera pans to Stokes, who is looking pensive and freshly shaved. Hazlewood, all arms, legs and ears, drags his body through another over. Woakes leans back into a huge hook, but doesn’t quite reach the boundary.
Updated
47th over: England 140-8 (Wood 6, Woakes 18) These two making it look relatively easy. Another four for Woakes - stylish, through mid-off - while Wood snorts a couple. Cummins looks slightly put out and sends down a couple of short ones.
“G’Day from the Pacific North West,” writes David Gilbank. “Went fishing today off the coast South Beach in Newport Oregon and caught 5 Cod and snagged what the locals call Dungeony Crabs. They were delicious.Was hoping someone somehow could link my crab success with England’s performance today?I’m at a loss...”
Updated
46th over: England 134-8 (Wood 0, Woakes 18) Woakes nonchalantly hits Hazlewood for three successive boundaries - the third a clever play on angles over the slips. I reach for my forgotten tea -i t’s gone cold.
“ I was going to copy your thoughts, having let the cat out into a stiff pyraneean breeze an hour ago and remembered that England were being slaughtered on the other side of the world, but then retreaving some sense of order but ....
heyho, somebody decided to make you the bearer of snotty news!
One hopes things will improve a little, including for you, your back-up team and dog!”
Thanks Tone White! The dog’s has joined me in her basket, just stirring every now and then to sniff the runes.
Updated
45th over: England 122-8 (Wood 0, Woakes 6) Wood can find a smile as he wanders up to have a chat with Woakes at the end of another successful over from Cummins. Perhaps they fancy the pitch? The cameras have not found Root - what a crushing of dreams on the first morning. Still - remember how India started their triumphant tour down under at the start of the year.
46 ducks for England now. Their record of 54 in a year could be boxed off by next weekend. https://t.co/Ispq48z1zK
— Will Macpherson (@willis_macp) December 8, 2021
Updated
WICKET! Robinson c Carey b Cummins 0 (England 118-8)
Australia’s big men doing the business! A third for captain Cummins as Robinson pulls out a leaden-footed prod away from his body.
44th over: England 122-7 (Robinson 0, Woakes 6) Woakes grabs some skin back for England with a velveteen cover-drive, but things are suddenly looking rather more ragtag for Root’s men.
Updated
WICKET! Pope c Hazlewood b Green 35 (England 118-7)
A first Test wicket for the mountainous but baby-faced Green, with his first ball of the series! Pope is top-heavy on a hook and the edges flies down to Hazlewood who watches from just inside the boundary and propels his body forward to gather the ball off the ground. Great catch.
43rd over: England 118-6 (Pope 35, Woakes 2) Woakes gets his reflexes tested with a snifter from Starc; Woakes nobly bends his front knee and dips his head.
“Well, there’s a welcome to the blog for you. (Guessing you’re recapping Buttler’s wicket now.)“ writes Meghan Purvis. “I’m watching from east London but regret to inform you I’m an Australia supporter, so soaring on caffeine and unbridled joy. Odds of us seeing Australia start to bat by the time the rest of London’s waking up?”
Oooh, they’ve got to be high, I bet you my first steaming cup of coffee that Labuschagne is strolling in before the close.
42nd over: England 117-6 (Pope 34, Woakes 2) The skies are still cloudy above the Gabba but there are slithers of shadow following the fielders around. Pope keeps things moving with a drive through the covers off Lyon
41st over: England 114-6 (Pope 31, Woakes 2) Woakes picks up a couple to get off the mark with a smart looking drive. Super bowling from Starc that brings that mini England fight-back to a flowery full stop. Root must be relieved that he’s got Woakes coming in at eight, not Ollie Robinson.
WICKET! Buttler c Carey b Starc 39 (England 112-5)
The ball after sending Starc spinning square for four with a sublime bit of wristiness, Buttler gets an edge on a beauty edging away from him, which is calmly gathered behind the stumps.
Updated
40th over: England 108-5 (Pope 31, Buttler 35) Thanks Geoff! Fantastic stuff. Well, as Nathan Lyon reels through a maiden, this is significantly more cheerful than when I dozed off at a sniff and a snort for four.
Updated
Anyway, that’s me for the day. England supporters, I hope you’re feeling a tiny bit better, though I’m sure you’ll still be made mostly of worry and fear.
On which note, let me hand you over to Tanya: All Dread.
A quick mention: Adam Collins and I make a podcast called The Final Word, and the Guardian has brought us on board for the Ashes. So we’ll making an Ashes Daily show, along with Emma John, at stumps each day. Fifteen minutes of talking through the day that has been, mostly for the benefit of people who can’t sit down and watch it all, or can’t stay awake to do so.
It’ll be in the Guardian podcast feed, or on this page here.
Below is a sample of the show, if you’re interested. Our episode from the T20 World Cup final. Similar format.
Updated
39th over: England 108-5 (Pope 31, Buttler 35) Starc bowls his third over since lunch, with Buttler happy to duck and defend before drinks.
38th over: England 107-5 (Pope 30, Buttler 35) Driven through long-on by Pope, and a good chase from Head is required to drag the ball back and save Lyon a boundary. Three runs instead. But Buttler takes strike and gets all four with a drive through extra cover, waiting for the ball to dip and then driving alone the ground. Top shot to a delivery too full.
37th over: England 100-5 (Pope 27, Buttler 31) Rapturous applause from segments of the ground as Pope slides Starc down to fine leg for the run that raises England’s hundred. Then Buttler is nearly caught at short cover! We foreshadowed that, and he does exactly what he does, reaching for a drive and hitting it low but aerially. It bounces just in front of Labuschagne, into his hands on the half-volley.
36th over: England 98-5 (Pope 26, Buttler 30) Nathan ‘Nathan’ Lyon gets another crack at bowling. Pate nude and polished, limbs gangly, he approaches the crease like a windchime in a stiff breeze. Pope whips a single. This next contest will be interesting. Does Buttler try to take down the spinner? Not in the first instance, having a few looks before driving one run down the ground off the back foot.
35th over: England 96-5 (Pope 25, Buttler 29) Baby’s first review! Cummins and Carey each take their first DRS appeal upstairs as Buttler can’t catch up with a ball down the leg side. Starc appealed but then didn’t look convinced about reviewing it. The others were. Nothing on it. Outside off stump might be more likely to be where Starc gets Buttler, with pace sliding a top edge from an angled bat into the cordon, that sort of thing. Buttler plays it out, driving the last ball back to the bowler who fields well.
Updated
34th over: England 96-5 (Pope 25, Buttler 29) Josh Hazlewood, which is of course French for Josh Has The Wood, takes the Kookaburra from the Stanley Street end. Pope nudges a run into the covers. Buttler and Josh, this is a good battle. Hazlewood gives him a straight enough line for Buttler to whip three runs through midwicket. Gosh he looks good today. The sun is peeking out again. Batting is possible. Had the top order been able to scrap through for long enough that Root was batting now, for instance, the call to bat would have been paying off.
“I still reckon batting was the right call,” writes Luke McLaughlin. “Burns jumped out of the way of a leg-stump half-volley and Malan never needed to play his one. OK, Root and Stokes, brilliant bowling, but the very, very impressive Hameed showed that batting isn’t impossible.”
Confirmation bias is a hell of a drug. We’ll hear endlessly from people today that obviously England should have bowled, because England lost wickets batting. Rather, England didn’t bat well, but that doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t have taken the opportunity to try to bat well.
33rd over: England 92-5 (Pope 24, Buttler 26) Buttler! You cad! Rocks back and sashays Cummins away through backward point with a leaning cut shot. Lots of flourish there. That’s 26 off 26. If he can just keep this up for another 150 balls or so they’ll be well placed.
32nd over: England 87-5 (Pope 23, Buttler 22) Again Buttler goes through extra cover, taking on Hazlewood. Picks up three runs as Head slides near the boundary to pull the ball back. The field changes for Buttler. Third slip goes to cover. He does have a tendency to be caught there, so it’s not exactly a defensive move. When he gets strike back from Pope, though, he drives through midwicket for two. This is good stuff, 22 from 23 balls now.
31st over: England 81-5 (Pope 22, Buttler 17) Australia attacks, Buttler counterattacks, Cummins counter-counterattacks. Bowls a beauty, past the outside edge as the wicketkeeper pushes at nothing. Buttler counter-counter-counters by getting up on his toes to punch through point again, three more runs. He’s got 17 at basically a run a ball. Pope clips a brace, then gets some ice on his arm where he took that impact.
30th over: England 76-5 (Pope 20, Buttler 14) Shot from Buttler! The field is up - the only player in the deep is fine leg - and there is no one at cover. So there is no need to keep the ball down, and Buttler steps into Hazlewood’s length ball and drives it lofted, on the up, over extra cover for four.
Deciding that felt good, he aims to end the over with another, this time over mid-on. The bat turns in his fist and the ball goes straighter, and very high. Entirely safe though, and it pitches just inside the rope and stops to yield three runs.
29th over: England 69-5 (Pope 20, Buttler 7) At least there’s some busyness at the crease between Pope and Buttler. Zipping up and back for a couple of singles. Cummins doesn’t like that, so he gives Pope a bouncer, then bowls a mid-length short ball that crashes into Pope’s back arm around the bicep. Flex it off, buddy.
28th over: England 67-5 (Pope 19, Buttler 6) Softly spoken but carrying a big stick, Buttler can do damage. He just hasn’t done it all that often in Test cricket. He almost nicks off for nought here, playing a big drive at Hazlewood that misses the ball completely. Undaunted, he goes for another from a slightly fuller ball, a cover drive with a wristy flick to it for four. Then rides the bounce to push two through point. If you can score like that from Hazlewood’s optimum length, you’ll go a long way to succeeding against him.
27th over: England 60-5 (Pope 18, Buttler 0) Last chance saloon then, with Buttler and Pope together. A 200 partnership sounds about right. Cummins has 2 for 17 in his first innings as captain.
WICKET! Hameed c Smith b Cummins 25, England 60-5
“I’m sorry. Did I break your concentration?”
In this scene, the lunch break is played by Samuel L. Jackson.
Straightforward quality stuff from Cummins. Full enough to draw the feet, tight enough line to draw a shot, movement enough to draw the edge. Hameed probably doesn’t need to play at this, but only just. He edges to second slip.
Apologies to Tom Kirkpatrick, from a couple of minutes to go. “I’m in Guatemala, not England, but I’m still with you. I’ll be up for a few more hours to see if Hameed and Pope can make a start on the 200 partnership we need from them. You never know.. they could do it.”
Updated
Here we go after lunch...
“I was sitting in the stand at the Stanley Street end behind the bowler watching Harmisons first ball,” writes Scott Flavell. “It was worse than today’s first ball. There was such anticipation that was immediately deflated. Today was a hard one for Burns first up.”
I don’t feel that Burns was too hard done by. A fast swinging full ball is tricky, but walking across so far that you expose your leg stump is a technical failing. He could have survived it otherwise.
Righto, I’ve got a plate, the lunchtime kids’ matches are happening, and there’s time to take a breath. Is anyone in England still with us? You’ve got to stay with your team no matter what... Could be a comeback on the cards.
Here are the collected Australian commentary services on the first ball of the match. Jim Maxwell 4 Eva for me, obviously.
First ball of the 2021 #Ashes series as called by
— Damian Tardio (@damiantardio) December 8, 2021
Adam Gilchrist on Fox
Jim Maxwell on 3LO
James Brayshaw on 3MMM
Tim Lane on Seven
Gerard Whateley on SEN pic.twitter.com/0sJh3LUjkY
Lunch - England 59 for 4
What an extraordinary session. A wicket with the first ball of an Ashes series? How often has that happened? Starc bowled fast and curled the ball onto the leg stump of Rory Burns. Moving across his crease was his downfall. The three after that were all nicked off, Hazlewood and Cummins bowling their hard length immaculately and landing it on the seam. Basic fast bowling, but top quality as well. Hameed and Pope have played in a way that suggests that the degree of difficulty is easing, and now it will be up to them and once again England’s lower order to fashion some sort of total here.
Time for a break.
Updated
26th over: England 59-4 (Hameed 25, Pope 17) Hameed gets back to Lyon’s off-break and punches it away through point for a run. Pope tries to sweep and gets hit on the pad, Lyon sinking to one knee in appeal, but nothing doing. In response Pope charges and drags a ball through the leg side for one. Was looking for something bigger and didn’t make good contact. Would have been hell to pay if he’d holed out three balls before lunch. Luck is with him, and the break arrives.
25th over: England 57-4 (Hameed 24, Pope 16) Green continues without looking very consistent or threatening, and Pope tries to score in about six different ways but can’t get more than a couple of runs from a glance.
24th over: England 55-4 (Hameed 24, Pope 14) Lyon completes his third over, frustrated when Hameed pushes at a ball with an open face, despite having a slip in place, and guides it very fine for four.
Updated
23rd over: England 50-4 (Hameed 20, Pope 13) The sun comes out for a couple of minutes, then goes in again, as Cameron Green gets his first over. A big team appeal for a catch down the leg side from his first ball, everyone except the bowler who isn’t interested and just walks back. Hameed tries a couple of shots, to cover and midwicket, but can’t get past the field. No run from the over.
Updated
22nd over: England 50-4 (Hameed 20, Pope 13) One run from Lyon with a scrambled single taken by Hameed. Dicey run. Pope tries to clatter a pull shot away but pulls it into Labuschagne at short leg, denying the run by accident. Some luck for Pope that the ball doesn’t bounce up for someone else to catch.
England’s 50 is up. Pop the corks then.
Updated
21st over: England 49-4 (Hameed 19, Pope 13) You wouldn’t exactly call this dynamic batting, though they scrape a couple of singles from the Starc over. But it has at least settled for England, as was likely to happen.
20th over: England 47-4 (Hameed 18, Pope 12) Alright, now it’s Nathan Lyon time. He’s on 399 Test wickets, remember, and seemingly has ben for about ten years. He bowls really nicely to Hameed first up, big turn into the right-hander who steps across and jabs the ball down to short leg. Then teasing flight from Lyon that makes Hameed wait before pushing to the off side. No run from the over.
If you see any errors in the scores, hit refresh on your page. We’ve fixed a couple of things as we go.
19th over: England 47-4 (Hameed 18, Pope 12) Another over from Starc, another boundary for Pope. Drives down the ground this time, reaching the long-off fence.
Updated
18th over: England 43-4 (Hameed 18, Pope 8) No spin as yet, Hazlewood continues his spell and Hameed keeps leaving him. Australia will get through about 20 overs in the first session at this rate.
17th over: England 43-4 (Hameed 18, Pope 8) Starc replaces Cummins, bowling left-arm around the wicket at the right-handed Hameed. Creates an angle in at the body that looks quite uncomfortable. Hameed is finding ways to turn over strike more readily now though, and after he works a run to square leg, Pope reaches out at some width from Starc and steers it behind point for four.
16th over: England 38-4 (Hameed 17, Pope 4) Young Pope is very happy to leave Hazlewood alone as much as he can. Eventually it makes Hazlewood bowl a bit closer to the stumps, to least draw defensive shots.
“Those of us in Asia have got up rather than stayed up for this moment - though I guess it’s equally depressing whether you’re in Birmingham or Bangkok,” writes in Leo Phillips. “Is there perchance a TMS link to give our misery an audible aspect?”
There is not, today. The BBC haven’t posted one, which they usually do. Might be a rights thing, with various stations owning Australian rights. I don’t know if anyone owns those for other territories.
15th over: England 37-4 (Hameed 16, Pope 4) The current pair show a bit of willingness to take on Cummins. They might as well try to score a few. After a Hameed single, Pope pulls away a half-short ball for three, then Hameed flicks away three more into the empty acres on the leg side.
14th over: England 30-4 (Hameed 12, Pope 1) Hazlewood replaces Starc, as ever getting the ball to cut back into the right-handed Pope. Mid-on, midwicket and fine leg the only three fielders on that side. Pope leaves everything that he can.
13th over: England 30-4 (Hameed 12, Pope 1) Ollie Pope to the crease. Gets going first ball, a single to cover.
Updated
WICKET! Stokes c Labuschagne b Cummins 5, England 29-4
That won’t help Josh’s mood. Stokes plays his first confident shot of the innings, slamming an off-drive for four. But three balls later, Cummins gets him with fierce bounce. Not a bouncer, just back of a length, and Stokes tries to defend it off the back foot. But it moves away a touch after angling in at his midriff, takes his edge, and skews wide of third slip. Labuschagne dives across and takes it above the turf. Good catch, great bowling, and Cummins has his first wicket as captain.
Updated
“I stayed up for this?” asks Josh Collis. “Seemingly yes. Total England first innings prediction = 68.”
Spare a thought for the UK-bound Tanya Aldred, who is staying up to take the second half of the OBO, and texting me forlorn thoughts in the meantime.
12th over: England 24-3 (Hameed 12, Stokes 1) Starc tries something short, but the line is awry and it clips Hameed’s hip on its way to fine leg for four. He bowls better to get one past the outside edge, then draws Hameed into an off-drive that is stopped.
The drinks break arrives.
Updated
Robert McLiam Wilson puts key to screen.
“Old-school, hall-of-fame ouch. The notion of ‘statement’ deliveries, shots or catches is massively overplayed, more journalism than history, but a first nut castling behind the legs is a genuine sphincter-shrinker. It’s starting the gig with your best joke, it’s showing the butler doing it in the pre-credits sequence. It’s neither omen, nor harbinger, it’s a notarised contract. It’s literal genius, because all genius has always shrugged its shoulders and said the same thing - ‘There’s more of this to come’.”
11th over: England 20-3 (Hameed 12, Stokes 1) Happy to hang in there, is Stokes. Plays one shot at Cummins in the over, but again Head at mid-off stops any score. Otherwise, Stokes is content to leave on length and defend on merit.
Updated
“England’s brittle top order being fully exposed here. Have to think that it won’t be long now before Harry Brook is handed an England cap - and after all he is now in Australia playing in the Big Bash - which might turn out to be very convenient.”
I think you have to give them more than one innings, Peter Rowntree. Malan in particular has been picked to counter Australia on tracks with bounce and not much sideways movement, rather than when there’s some seam around on morning one.
10th over: England 20-3 (Hameed 12, Stokes 1) Starc returns, swung around to the Stanley Street end after his wicket first ball coming from Vulture Street. Interesting. And nearly another, second ball of the over, as Hameed carves over the slips for four! Sees width, throws his hands at it, and his attempted square drive ends up at deep third. Some serious carry for Starc as he responds with pace.
9th over: England 16-3 (Hameed 8, Stokes 1) Another Cummins over from the Vulture Street end, Hammed glancing a single. Stokes is stepping across his stumps and being beaten on the inside edge, perhaps a bit of a box shot from Cummins bowling around the wicket to the left-hander. It may only have grazed the box - but as Eddie Murphy spoke in truth, it only needs to graze.
Stokes with his wide stance awaits Cummins, digging out a full ball. Then steps into a drive but doesn’t nail it, and Head is able to dive across at mid-off to stop the shot.
Updated
8th over: England 15-3 (Hameed 7, Stokes 1) Thus England turn to Ben Stokes and, Bernie Sanders style, once again ask him for a miracle. He at least survives a Hazlewood over, blocking and leaving and nudging a single. Hameed takes a run off his hip to leg slip, which interests the Australians with a short leg in place. It was off the thigh pad, so a leg bye.
Updated
7th over: England 13-3 (Hameed 7, Stokes 0) Cummins carries on to Hameed, bowling the first bumper of the innings that the England opener calmly ducks under Hameed has looked quite good so far this morning, though as I type he strides forward and is beaten by Cummins. Strides again, and drives clunkily as the bat twists in his hand, the ball skewing through extra cover for two runs.
6th over: England 11-3 (Hameed 5, Stokes 0) A calamitous start for England. The pessimists were right.
WICKET! Root c Warner b Hazlewood 0, England 11-3
Hazlewood has gone pretty well against Root in the past too, and he has the England captain hopping with that hard bounce. Then beaten! Pushing forward in defence, some seam away from the bat and it just sneaks past the edge. This is quality stuff. Decks back in, the next ball, making Root fall over to the off side and striking his pad. Too high to be worth an appeal, but it beat him. Root prods at a spot on the pitch. Faces up for the fifth ball...
And he’s out! The same as a couple of balls earlier, nipping away at pace. He has to play at it, angled at his off stump, but the movement takes the edge to first slip, where a jubilant Warner hurls the ball away!
Nine balls faced for Root without adding a run to his storied 2021 tally. He stays on 1455 for the year with five hits remaining.
Updated
5th over: England 11-2 (Hameed 5, Root 0) Here comes Captain Cummins! Quite a move. Starc has bowled two overs, but Cummins knows that he himself has been a great match-up against Root in the past. So he takes the ball with the biggest English wicket now a possibility. Has to bowl his first over to Hameed though, who handles the high bounce pretty well and defends the fuller ball well too.
4th over: England 11-2 (Hameed 5, Root 0) “You’re next, Rooter!” is the cry from the crowd in a broad Australian accent as England’s captain walks out. Hazlewood tests him, cutting a ball back in that thunders into his thigh pad.
WICKET! Malan c Carey b Hazlewood 6, England 11-2
Another one goes! Hazlewood’s bounce does the trick, as so often before. Perfect line, draws Malan into a defensive shot on his off stump, then the ball kicks up after pitching, squaring him up as he tries to get enough bat on it. He only gets a sliver through to the keeper, and Alex Carey is on the board in Test cricket.
Updated
3rd over: England 11-1 (Hameed 5, Malan 6) The obligatory trumpeter is already playing The Great Escape music. Hameed defends or leaves three Starc balls outside off stump, but steps into the fourth, fuller pitched, and drives it handsomely down the ground. No flourish, but a straight hit through the ball.
2nd over: England 7-1 (Hameed 1, Malan 6) Josh Hazlewood from the Stanley Street end starts off to Haseeb Hameed. Beats him with a beauty, plenty of steep bounce for JH early on. Hameed gets off strike after a few ball with a nudge to leg. Starc moves over in front of us to become fine leg for the left-hander, and gets a huge cheer from the crowd just below the press box on arrival.
“Have I missed anything?” writes Chris Purcell.
1st over: England 6-1 (Hameed 0, Malan 6) Second ball of the innings? Edged for four! Dawid Malan pokes at is, producing a thick low edge through the gap in the cordon. Three slips, a gap to gully, then Lyon at point. Cover is open. Mid-off in position, mid-on, square leg. Malan guides again, with more control this time, between gully and point for a couple.
What a start.
WICKET! Burns b Starc 0, England 0-1
A WICKET WITH THE FIRST BALL OF THE ASHES!
Bowled around his legs! Extraordinary. Starc bowls left-arm over the wicket. Angling towards leg stump. Burns, as he does, has moved across to off stump. He aims a flick at the ball, missing. It swings back a little, scoots behind his ankle and takes his leg stump.
A more extraordinary first ball in Brisbane than Harmison’s? We have a contender.
Updated
We’re about to start. Mitchell Starc with the new ball, not Pat Cummins...
Welcome to Country is led by Deborah Sandy, then the anthems. A very loud segment of the crowd in the lower deck on the southern side of the ground joins in with God Save the Queen - so that’s where the English have gathered. Advance Australia fair gets a few more voices joining in.
We’re set up for the anthems, with theatrical boos as England walk out and cheers for the Australians. The ground is still nowhere near full, looks like most of the crowd won’t get to see the first ball.
“As much as Ollie Robinson appears to be a good fit for Aussie conditions and a fit Mark Wood feels almost like a necessity given the awful absence of Archer, I wonder if at least a little part of the reason for not picking Broad for this Test is that England are going to rotate their quicks more than they normally would over an Ashes in Oz and the last time Stuart Broad was snubbed for the start of a series he took it personally and came back bowling with the fire of a thousand English suns over the rest of that series. Perhaps England are hoping for a repeat of that this time around.”
It’s as compelling a theory as any, Michael Jenkins. I can buy the argument for Wood and Robinson in these conditions, but I’m not sure how Woakes (as good as he is) gets the nod ahead of Broad, given how the latter has torn up Australia’s left-handers before. Different country, different conditions, but if the chance was there to punch the bruise, it was going to be in England’s first bowling innings of the series.
Richard writes in from Kuala Lumpur. I used to live there for a time, a tremendous city. Please have some roti pisang for me.
“A very good morning from Malaysia! Hoping for a bat first and a decent return from our top 4. Sobers scored a 132 on this day at the Gabba to kick off the 1960s WI tour of Australia - it’s possible! Quick shout out to my brother, who reached 49 not out this week... happy birthday Nick Rodwell.”
Kevin Plastow is corresponding with me from outside the Gabba. “The crowd are all outside waiting patiently to go through security, check in, and then the gate. Patience required.”
“Slightly delirious with excitement, or perhaps it’s the booster jab I had earlier. Half an hour ‘til all our dreams are crushed, yay!”
Ah, English pessimism. Enjoy it, James Walsh.
Teams
England
Rory Burns
Haseeb Hameed
Dawid Malan
Joe Root *
Ben Stokes
Ollie Pope
Jos Buttler +
Chris Woakes
Ollie Robinson
Mark Wood
Jack Leach
Australia
David Warner
Marcus Harris
Marnus Labuschagne
Steven Smith
Travis Head
Cameron Green
Alex Carey +
Pat Cummins *
Mitchell Starc
Nathan Lyon
Josh Hazlewood
Pat Cummins says he doesn’t mind the result - Australia would have batted but he reckons it’s a 50-50 call anyway. So, we could have skipper vs skipper pretty soon into the series.
England win the toss and will bat
An early minor victory for the English, in that they don’t have to face the prospect of conceding 500 in the first innings. They will have to bat well initially, but surely there are runs to be had if they manage that. Root has no hesitation.
Updated
Here comes Patrick Cummins in his green blazer, and the crowd breaks out into applause as he walks to the middle for the first time.
I’ll tell you what, I didn’t see Broad warm up with the others, he was hanging out with Bairstow, who isn’t playing.
For a visual reference...
It’s packed like a Downing Street Christmas party out there. pic.twitter.com/itR7mL49w0
— Geoff Lemon Sport (@GeoffLemonSport) December 7, 2021
We’ve had a lengthy and meaningful barefoot ceremony in the middle, led by Aunty Deborah Sandy with the teams standing barefoot around the Walkabout Wickets artwork. The players are told about this land, the rivers that run through it, the languages spoken, the indigenous people who have lived and do live here. The best part is that one of the TV producers keeps trying to signal to her to wrap up, and she serenely ignores them and sails on, telling the story. A power move.
Updated
There is intrigue around the England lineup, with suggestions swirling around the Gabba that Stuart Broad will miss out and spinner Jack Leach set to get the nod. It would mean an England team with no Jimmy Anderson and Broad together for the first time in five years.
Stand by for the toss, coming up shortly.
Updated
It’s being billed as something of a new era for Australian Test cricket, with debutant captain Pat Cummins in charge. Here’s a nifty guide to the players who are going to shape the series.
Greg Bradley emails in. “Have a great Ashes series or at least have a great Ashes first Test, or maybe first innings, or maybe first morning? Lovely to see your intro but the stadium is empty. No crowd? Weird. I’ve gotten used to crowds at the footie again.”
Well, the crowd is coming in. Still almost an hour until play. It’s allegedly a sell-out today. The Gabba can take over 40,000.
Updated
How about the pitch? It looks green, yes. But the Gabba pitch always looks green on day one. It’s not usually grass that does a whole lot. I’m willing to bet it will be very decent batting surface, after perhaps a little hard work early.
The big question: will we get play? Well, probably. The forecast for Brisbane entire says that rain may be around from exactly 10am local time, which is the first ball. But that doesn’t mean it will fall here at 10am. There are thunderstorms forecast for the afternoon, but hopefully that means they will rain intensely but briefly and then clear off. The Gabba drains better than any other ground in the world, and we’ve seen the ground staff here perform miracles before. So, be optimistic.
Preamble
Good morning from Brisbane! I happen to know that it is already late at night in the UK, and any other number of times in other zones around the world, but here from the Gabba it is a fresh new day with a fresh new pitch in the middle.
The Ashes! That old thing. Thank providence that it is beginning, so that I don’t have to write, nor do you have to read, any more preview pieces. From now on, we will have views and reviews only.
Everyone is out there on the ground: players, whole squads, coaches, umpires, ground staff, tractors, camera operators. There’s Haseeb Hameed with a bat under each arm, just in case. Cap backwards. Strutting. There’s Danny Reuben, talking media with the Channel Seven broadcast managers. Mike Hussey is out there in a suit, Adam Gilchrist in shirt sleeves. There are nets strung up for throw-downs. Eskies full of drinks. Hurdles and medicine balls. A circle of England players are heading a football around. There are strings of orange flags around the centre square. David Warner is standing on the centre wicket about where the stumps will go in, facing up with his bat and visualising.
It’s warm, it’s sweaty, it’s overcast, and it’s happening. I’m Geoff, hello.
