That’s all for our live coverage of the first Test. Thanks for joining us! We will see you in Adelaide. 1-0!
Ashes 2021 first test result: Australia def England by 9 wickets to take 1-0 lead
With Australia looking to nurse Josh Hazlewood through the Ashes series, Jhye Richardson and Michael Neser have come into play for Adelaide. Which one would deserve the nod? Vote now!
Australia has vanquished its Gabba demons with powerful demolition of England, but Josh Hazlewood is in serious doubt to play the second Test.
Jhye Richardson and Michael Neser are firmly in the frame for a Test call-up for the pink ball Test in Adelaide starting next Thursday, with Australian captain Pat Cummins conceding chief weapon Hazlewood must be managed carefully through the series after suffering a minor side strain.
Cummins – the first out and out fast bowler to win a Test match as Australian captain – said no decision would be made on Hazlewood until he is assessed on Sunday, but it’s clear the home side wants to play the long game with their most consistent quick after nursing him through the dominant nine-wicket first Test win.
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Richardson would appear next cab off the rank, but Neser – fresh from taking five wickets against the English Lions – is in with a massive show to get a Test debut instead given he is perhaps the more like-for-like replacement for the ultra-consistent Hazlewood.
“I think we’ll wait and see how he wakes up in the morning. I think a key is we don’t want to put him in jeopardy for the whole series,” said Cummins.
“We’ll take our time, he had a scan last night (Friday) so we’ll work through that, he bowled out there today (Saturday). There’s no plan yet. We’ll sleep on it, see how he pulls up tomorrow.
“There’s nothing scary enough (in the scan result) to not bowl today but still a little bit just to make us want to manage him a little bit.
“He (Hazlewood) is a little bit sore. It was good he came out today and was able to bowl and got through a really good spell but he’s a little bit sore so just managing him through a five Test match summer.
“He’s key for us, so we didn’t want to blow him out of the water on day three.”
The good news is David Warner (bruised ribs) is likely to back up in Adelaide despite not batting in Australia’s measly chase of a 20-run fourth innings victory target to win just after lunch on day four.
After 400-wicket man Nathan Lyon (4-91), captain Cummins, rookie Cameron Green and even walking wounded Hazlewood blazed through England to take 8-77 and have them bowled out before lunch – it was pointless to risk Warner, who would have required pain-killers to bat.
“Davey was available to bat. We just chose not to risk him. I think he had a hit here earlier,” said Cummins, with Usman Khawaja on standby.
“He got through it. He’s still pretty sore but should be right for Adelaide. We’ll monitor him but I think he’ll be fine.”
Debutant Alex Carey only enhanced a dream start to his Test career where he claimed a world record eight dismissals by putting his hand up to open in Warner’s place, although he was the only wicket to fall before Marcus Harris smashed a four to complete a comprehensive first Test rout.
Travis Head was man of the match for his stunning 152 off 148 in the first innings which turned the momentum of the match, but the huge positive for Cummins was the number of contributors, showing how much the team has grown since last summer’s embarrassing capitulation to India at the same Gabba venue.
Cummins himself took seven wickets on his captaincy debut, Mitchell Starc blew the roof off the Gabba with his wicket off the first ball, while Marnus Labuschagne (74) and Warner (94) set the heavy duty platform Australia required.
Then after an agonising 18 months stuck in the 390s, Australia’s greatest ever off-spinner Lyon broke the shackles to claim Dawid Malan (82) for his 400th wicket milestone, before winding back the clock to bowl Australia towards a momentum-building victory.
Cummins was urged to bowl by vice-captain Steve Smith – and immediately claimed the wicket of Ben Stokes – a sign their leadership dynamic is off to a good start.
After England put them under the pump late on day three, lessons were learnt from the Gabba loss to India.
“I was really happy with how we stuck at it. We put a lot into yesterday and we were really calm, turned up this morning, still focused and calm. There was no panic and we just got our rewards this morning for the hard work from yesterday,” said Cummins, who was also full of praise for the bowling performance of Green who claimed the prized wicket of Joe Root (89).
“We did what we did best and tried to own the top of off stump, fourth stump. I think that’s one lesson just stay at plan a for as long as we can.”
After disappearing from the attack for nearly 40 overs at the end of day three, Hazlewood bravely rolled the arm over for six overs on day four, and despite being down on pace, still hit his line and length with typical precision.
It shows Hazlewood isn’t seriously injured, but his limited preparation coming off the Twenty20 World Cup may have come back to bite him.
Australia has spoken about having a squad mentality for this series, and with the entire fast bowling attack coming in without any red ball preparation, it would seem to make sense to utilise either Richardson or Neser in Adelaide if there is even slight concern over Hazlewood’s fitness.
For Neser, it would be a Test debut, conditions he would relish under lights, while Richardson is the form domestic bowler in Australia and proved he was a Test star in the making against Sri Lanka a couple of summers ago.
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Updates
Travis Head has been named man of the match. He was absolutely brilliant in that first innings.
Coming in under a little bit of pressure, he took the game away from England.
Now he gets to play in front of his home state in the second Test in Adelaide.
What the experts said:
“What a day’s Test cricket we've actually seen from this Australian cricket team. Dominated day one and day two. England fought back incredibly strongly yesterday, on the back of some great batting from (Joe) Root and (Dawid) Malan. Day four of this Test match belongs to Australia. A nine wicket win, doesn't get more comprehensive than that.” – Ricky Ponting told 7.
Here is the big moment:
Australia has wrapped up the first #Ashes Test, beating England by nine wickets inside four days. pic.twitter.com/JKatmOdL7X
— News Cricket (@NewsCorpCricket) December 11, 2021
Joe Root has spoken after his side’s loss
On today:
Frustration I think. We worked really hard to get ourselves back in the game last night. We gave ourselves a good opportunity to post a total that would have kept us in the game. It is a shame we couldn’t quite manage to do that. We know where we need to improve. We know where we need to get better.
On Jack Leach’s struggles:
Jack is a fine spinner. I’m sure he will play a big part in this series moving forward.
On what’s next:
More than anything, I think we need to remember there is a huge amount of cricket to play. We should relish that chance.
Official: Aussies win by nine wickets
There it is
Australia has won the opening Test at the Gabba by nine wickets.
The home side dominated the opening session of the fourth day, taking all eight remaining wickets before the lunch break.
Pat Cummins and Cam Green bowled well but the highlight was Nathan Lyon who took his 400th career Test wicket.
David Warner, who is nursing bruised ribs, did not bat in the second innings.
The second Test will be played in Adelaide.
Wicket: Carey c Buttler b Robinson 9
That’s unlucky for Alex Carey. He’s caught behind after edging a ball from Ollie Robinson.
The most disappointed man in the stadium (outside of Carey) is Marnus Labuschagne, who now has to come out to bat with four runs needed.
We are back at the Gabba and the countdown to victory is on!
The big news – David Warner is not heading out to bat. He has been battling bruised ribs and smartly, the Aussies aren’t risking him here.
Alex Carey is in the middle with Marcus Harris.
Malan shows guts, grit and significant skill
Ben Dorries
Walking ego Kevin Pietersen once labelled Brisbane a dump but a much more likeable “South African” made him look silly as he knuckled down to try to pick the Poms’ Ashes campaign out of the Gabba trash can.
Dawid Malan, born in England but who moved to South Africa with his family when he was seven, showed guts, grit and significant skill to move to the brink of a Test century at the Gabba.
Pietersen played three Gabba Tests and fired few shots, scoring only one fifty and averaging less than 40, and that probably should have been no surprise.
The man who polarised cricket fans and was public enemy number 1 for Australians in general and Brisbane residents in particular given he used to treat the city with contempt and walk around on his own planet with his headphones on.
Once asked to name three things he liked about Brisbane, Pietersen replied: “The departure lounge, the taxi on the runway to the plane and the visual flying out of Brisbane.”
But it’s amazing what happens when you embrace the occasion like 34-year-old Malan who made the most of an unexpected second chance at Ashes cricket that he feared had passed him by.
Malan made 82, eventually becoming Nathan Lyon’s 400th Test cricket when he was caught at bat pad in the first session on Saturday.
But more importantly than raw numbers, the England No.3 showed he would be no pushover for the Aussies this summer.
Recalled this year after a three-year absence from Test cricket, Malan came close to his second Ashes hundred in Australia after making one in Perth in 2017.
Malan had re-invented himself by turning himself into the highest ranked Twenty20 batsman in the world and in combination with captain Joe Root tried to haul the Poms back into the Gabba Test.
“I thought I would never play another Test," Malan said.
“When Rooty and I were on similar scores and the Barmy Army were singing I said to him "I’ve really missed this. I’ve missed someone trying to knock my head off all the time.
“Test cricket is the pinnacle and I’m so proud to be out there again wearing an England shirt.”
Malan was born near Putney in in London but spent his formative years in South Africa where he made his first-class debut in 2006.
Nicknamed “AC”, in a reference to Italian soccer giants “AC Milan”, Malan says his first proper cricket memories are of the famous 2005 Ashes series.
The man who is trying to be England’s latest “South African” cricket saviour is not fazed by the bouncy Australian pitches given he honed his craft in similar African conditions.
Lyon got Malan in the end – and as it turned out he should have got him much earlier after Malan made the shock confession he should have been Lyon’s 400th Test wicket a day earlier on Friday.
“I think I got away with one,’’ Malan told ABC radio.
“I think I gloved one straight to him and I could have been his 400th wicket.’’
On Friday, Malan was on 37 when he advanced to Lyon and the ball cannoned into his front pad and, unbeknown to the Australians, hit the batsman's glove on the way back to the bowler who caught it on the full.
LUNCH: Australia has Ashes lead within sight
They've taken lunch at the Gabba, with Australia to return in 40 minutes with just 20 runs to chase for a 1-0 lead in this series.
This morning was an absolute demolition job by the Australian attack – with wickets shared around, but the majority of the damage, and the major talking point, being Nathan Lyon taking his 400th Test wicket. And then three more.
He was back to being the GOAT, in an ominous sign for England for the remainder of the series. The monkey is off the back, and Lyon is ready to be a huge factor once more.
The major question to ponder over the lunch break now is whether David Warner will test out his severely bruised ribs in pursuit of this small total – or will Australia open with Marnus Labuschagne alongside Marcus Harris and protect their valuable veteran?
Logic would suggest given Warner's importance to the team, you ask him to put his feet up.
But Warner defies logic more often than not, and is probably tougher than he needs to be a lot of the time so you can't rule anything out.
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