Day one of the second Ashes Test ended with Australia dominating the play by scoring 339-5 in 83 overs at the stumps at Lord's Cricket Ground.
Steve Smith (85) and Alex Carey (11) will resume the inning for the visitors on the second day.
England’s skipper Ben Stokes opted to bowl first under heavy clouds after winning the toss, which did not give much support to the English pacers as they bowled below their average pace and allowed the Australian openers to settle.
However, Josh Tongue, an Ashes debutant, was the exception as he removed both Usman Khawaja, who misjudged an in-swinger, and David Warner but he didn’t have much support from his fellow bowlers.
Tongue got Warner with an in-swinging beauty which is now considered one of the best balls of this Ashes series.
Marnus Labuschagne developed a 102-run with Smith before he fell prey to Ollie Robinson.
However, a change in fortune came for the Englishmen when Joe Root removed Travis Head, who used England’s ‘BazBall’ approach on them, walked back to the pavilion after scoring 77 off 73 with 14 boundaries with a strike rate of 105 and created a 118-run partnership with Smith in just 20 overs.
Shortly after removing Head, Root also removed Cameroon Green just after three balls in the same over.
Ollie Pope left the field with an apparent shoulder injury during the game and was assessed by the medical team.
Former England cricketer and Sky Sports commentator Kevin Pieterson bashed his team on a “shambolic” opening day saying they need to become more “ruthless” to match the contest.
“Not a lot has caught my eye from an English perspective … It’s been shambolic. Absolutely Shambolic,” Pietersen said on Sky Sports.
“You have overhead conditions, you have a wicket that suits your bowlers, you have bowlers running in at 78, 79 mile an hour.
“It’s one thing walking here, swanning around saying, ‘Hey, this is a wonderful team to play in, we’re creating the best environment.’ But this isn’t Ashes cricket.
“I’ve played Ashes cricket, I’ve played nearly 30 Test matches against Australia. The Australians were outside to bat before the English bowlers.
“The English bowlers this morning should have been on those stairs saying we want to bowl at Australia. We’re desperate to bowl at Australia. These two Australian batters are out there waiting for England.
“They’re the ones that should be in the room saying, ‘No, no, we don’t want to bat,’ and it’s all too easy and it’s all too nice.”
Lineups
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jonny Bairstow, Ollie Robinson, Stuart Broad, Josh Tongue, James Anderson.
Australia: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.
Men’s Ashes Schedule
First Test (Edgbaston) - Friday, June 16 - Tuesday, June 20
Second Test (Lord's) - Wednesday, June 28 - Sunday, July 2
Third Test (Clean Slate Headingley) - Thursday, July 6 - Monday, July 10
Fourth Test (Emirates Old Trafford) - Wednesday, July 19 - Sunday, July 23
Fifth Test (The Kia Oval) - Thursday, July 27 - Monday, July 31