Australia won the Ashes series opener on Saturday by nine wickets at the Gabba to go 1-0 up in the series.
After a great fightback on Day 3, England crumbled like a pack in the morning session of Day 4 and lost their last eight wickets for 77 runs. Nathan Lyon (4/91) spun a web around the batters and claimed his 400th test wicket in the form of Dawid Malan (82). Skipper Joe Root departed for well made 89, followed by the likes of Ollie Pope (4), Ben Stokes (14), and Jos Buttler (23). England was bowled out on 297 in the third innings of the first Ashes Test. Australia chased down the 20-run target in 5.1 overs with the loss of one wicket and went 1-0 up in an emphatic fashion. Travis Head was named Player of the Match for his terrific hundred.
“Frustration, we worked really hard to get ourselves back in the game last night and we knew how important it was to try and get through to the new ball unscathed. If we carried that partnership forward we could have given ourselves an opportunity. You saw how the pitch was playing, there was sideways movement and the cracks were appearing. It’s a shame we couldn’t get through that initial period.” said Joe Root
Records broken
1. Nathan Lyon claimed his 400th test wicket. He became the 17th bowler overall and the third Australian to claim 400-plus Test wickets.
2. Pat Cummins picked his maiden five-wicket haul against England.
3. Warner has surpassed 1,000 runs against England on home soil. He now has 1,058 runs at an average of 62.23.
4. Joe Root surpassed Michael Vaughan’s record (1,481) for the most Test runs by an England batter in a calendar year. Vaughan had scored 1,481 runs in 2002.
5. The England skipper also surpassed Hashim Amla’s tally of 9,282 runs.
6. Australia has continued their 35-year unbeaten run against England in Brisbane.
7. England have now lost 10 of their past 11 Tests in Australia and won only one of 10 matches since they beat India in the first Test in February.
8. Travis Head became the first batter to score a century in a session at Gabba. Also, Head’s 85-ball ton is the fastest recorded hundred in Test cricket at the Gabba.