The first day of the Ashes Test match between England and Australia at Edgbaston saw an abundance of runs being scored, leading experts to describe the pitch as flat and unhelpful for the bowlers. Former Indian cricket team opener Wasim Jaffer even made a playful remark about the pitch, comparing it to a highway and posting an edited picture with highway elements added. Despite the seemingly favorable conditions, England faced a challenging situation after losing two quick wickets and finding themselves at 176-5.
Bazz-Ball on full Tilt at Ashes
However, former England captain Joe Root displayed exceptional batting skills and ended his century drought in Ashes matches, remaining unbeaten on 118 runs. This marked his first Ashes hundred in eight years and 17 Tests. England captain Ben Stokes, recognizing Root's impressive performance, declared the innings at 393-8, allowing his team 20 minutes to field against Australia before stumps.
In the previous Ashes series, four years ago, Australia's opener David Warner struggled, averaging only 9.50 in 10 innings and being dismissed seven times by veteran English bowler Stuart Broad. Despite Broad taking the new ball in this Test, Warner managed to survive and ended the day unbeaten on eight runs, with Australia's total at 14-0 at stumps.
Root received valuable support from his Yorkshire teammate Jonny Bairstow, who scored a rapid 78 runs off just as many balls. Their partnership of 121 runs for the sixth wicket played a crucial role in England's total. Australia's Nathan Lyon faced taunts from sections of the 25,000-strong crowd but still managed to take four wickets for 149 runs, inching closer to the milestone of 500 wickets in Test cricket. Lyon's 29 overs on the first day was a relatively high workload for an off-spinner.
England has shown an aggressive approach in recent Test matches, winning 11 out of their last 13 games. This approach, dubbed 'Bazball' in reference to coach Brendon McCullum's nickname, was exemplified by the aggressive run-scoring displayed by Bairstow. The intent was evident from the first ball of the match when Zak Crawley elegantly drove Australia captain Pat Cummins through the covers for four runs.
Australia fought back by dismissing Ben Duckett for 12, caught behind off the bowling of Josh Hazlewood. Crawley, who had scored 61 runs, fell to a superb delivery from Scott Boland, which bounced and brushed his glove off a length. England reached a score of 124-3 at lunch.
In a bizarre dismissal, Harry Brook lost sight of a delivery from Lyon, and it looped off his thigh pad to hit the stumps, resulting in his dismissal for 32 runs. Stokes, England's vice-captain, fell quickly after facing just eight balls, caught behind off Hazlewood's delivery. Root also had a scare when he was initially given out lbw to Lyon, but his review confirmed that he had gloved the ball.
Bairstow, who had scored twin hundreds in England's victory over India at Edgbaston the previous year, aggressively attacked Hazlewood but was eventually stumped when he charged at Lyon. Moeen Ali, playing his first Test in nearly two years since retiring from red-ball cricket, scored 18 runs, including a pulled six off Cummins. However, he was needlessly stumped off Lyon, following a similar fate to Bairstow.
Root, displaying an array of shots including reverse sweeps for sixes against Boland and Cummins, completed his hundred off 145 balls, including seven fours. England now seeks their first Ashes series win since 2015, while Australia aims for their first Ashes victory in England in 22 years.
