Lunch Australia 4 for 94 (Smith 8*) v England
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Alastair Cook finally had a victory of sorts when he won his first toss of the series and by lunch his fast bowlers had backed his decision to send Australia in, collecting four wickets on a grassy pitch.
Not for the first time in the series Australia went to lunch on day one under pressure and the loss of Shane Watson from the final ball before the break was particularly costly after he struck seven boundaries during a confident innings of 43.
Watson had played some crisp drives and pulls during his 59-ball innings but his willingness to go for his shots meant England always had a chance of creating an opportunity. A few shots narrowly missed going to hand for England's fielders but eventually it was a standard forward push from Watson that brought his demise when he was trapped dead in front by James Anderson, remarkably, the first lbw against an Australia batsman in the series.
That left Steven Smith at the crease on 8, about to be joined by George Bailey, who needs an innings of note not only for his team in this match but to give himself the chance of being part of Australia's upcoming tour of South Africa. As has been the case throughout the series, Australia may yet need to rely on Brad Haddin for a first-innings recovery project.
The cloudy weather and green surface encouraged Cook to trust his fast bowlers when he called correctly at the toss. Anderson bowled too short in his new-ball spell to make full use of the conditions but Stuart Broad pitched the ball up and, despite leaking three boundaries to Warner in his second over, was rewarded when he straightened one that took Warner's off stump as he tried to punch down the ground on 16.
Ben Stokes was the most successful of the bowlers, having Chris Rogers bowled for 11 when he bottom-edged a pull back on to his stumps and Michael Clarke caught at second slip for 10 with a lovely delivery that straightened off the seam.
Stokes and Broad both gave the ball a chance to move and drew the Australians into playing, and the debutant Boyd Rankin provided some awkward moments with his extra bounce during a spell of 0 for 11 from four overs.
Rankin was one of three debutants picked by England, the first time since 2006 that they had played that many in a Test and the first time since the 1993 Trent Bridge Test that they had blooded so many debutants in an Ashes Test. On that occasion it was Graham Thorpe, Mark Lathwell, Mark Ilott and Martin McCague; here it was Rankin, legspinning allrounder Scott Borthwick and batsman Gary Ballance. Joe Root, Monty Panesar and Tim Bresnan were dropped.
It also brought to 18 the number of players England had used throughout this series, not only a record for England in an away Test series but an equal high for all teams in away Test campaigns. The only other squad ever to use 18 players in a Test series away from home was West Indies in South Africa in 1998-99; incidentally, they lost that series 5-0.
The situation could hardly have been more different for Australia, who for the first time named the same XI in every Test of a five-match series. Ryan Harris and Watson were both passed fit to play after emerging from the Melbourne victory with niggles.
Australia 1 Chris Rogers, 2 David Warner, 3 Shane Watson, 4 Michael Clarke (capt), 5 Steven Smith, 6 George Bailey, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Ryan Harris, 10 Peter Siddle, 11 Nathan Lyon.
England 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Michael Carberry, 3 Ian Bell, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Gary Ballance, 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 8 Scott Borthwick, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 James Anderson, 11 Boyd Rankin.
England take four before lunch
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England take four before lunch
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England take four before lunch
