On a day of half chances, England failed to take their chances and allowed Australia to take a lead of 196 runs in the first innings of Ashes 2021-22 opener at The Gabba Thursday. At the close of play on Day 2 of the first Test, Australia were 343/7 in 84 overs. England could manage only 147 runs on the rain-affected Day 1 yesterday. David Warner and Marcus Harris opened the Aussie innings, but the latter lasted only 17 balls for 3. Then a 156-run second-wicket stand from Warner (94) and Marnus Labuschagne (74) deflated the visitors even as nicks and edges continued to evade the fielders. In between, Ben Stokes missteps plagued the match, including a no-ball wicket, that of Warner, bowled. Ollie Robinson, however, got two wickets in two balls to give some respite. But that didn't last long as an adventurous Travis Head raced to 112 not out in 95 balls. Catch Day 2 highlights of the first Ashes Test match between Australia and England here:
1:00 PM IST: Stumps
Mark Wood with the final over of the day. Three runs from the over and England will be happy to end the day. They are outplayed. Australia take a lead of 196 runs with Travis Head unbeaten on 112 off 95. 54 runs and one wicket in the last ten overs. AUS - 343/7 (84)
12:45 PM IST: Scary
A nasty full toss and Travis Head copes one. Fortunately for the batter, the ball first hits on the hand glove and the ball ricochets to hit the chin. The initial reaction looks very scary. But he's fine now. Mark Wood quick to apologise. A no ball. AUS 332/7 (81)
12:38 PM IST: Head Ton
Travis Head brings up his hundred with a four, in 85 balls with the help of 13 fours and two sixes. Chris pitches it up and Head plays is straight. Fine shot to reach the landmark. A third Test ton and first in Ashes. Australia lead by 177 runs. AUS - 324/7 (80.2)
12: 19 PM IST: 300 Up
Joe Root returns for his fourth over. And the skipper gets the skipper. Pat Cummins goes for 12 off 27, caught by Haseeb Hameed at leg-slip. 70-run stand in 69 balls comes to an end. Mitchell Starc is the new man. Australia lead by 159 runs. AUS - 306/7 (76)
12:10 PM IST: Five Overthrows
Jack Leach on with his 11th over. Travis Head hits the fourth ball for a six, then five overthrows as Ben Stokes fails to hit the stumps at the striker's end. 15 from the over. Australia lead by 142 runs. Head-Pat Cummins stand now worth 53 in 56 runs. AUS - 289/6 (74)
11:53 AM IST: Head Fifty
Travis Head hits the first ball of Mark Wood's 18th over for a for to bring up his fifty, in 51 balls. Australia lead by 115 runs. AUS - 262/6 (71)
11:48 AM IST: Lead Grows
Australia's lead goes past 100. 45 runs in the last ten overs and the stand between Travis Head and skipper Pat Cummins is growing, already 21 in 32. AUS - 257/6 (70)
11:34 AM IST: Drinks
Australia now lead by 93 runs. Some 30 overs remaining in the day. Travis Head (33 off 35) and Pat Cummins (0 off 7) are in the middle. AUS - 240/6 (67)
11:24 AM IST: Six Down
Chris Woakes breaks a 41-run stand. Alex Carey (12 off 32), caught by Ollie Pope at midwicket. Pat Cummins joins Travis Head in the middle. Australia lead by 89 runs. 236/6 (64.4)
11:09 AM IST: Poor Stokes
Ben Stokes returns for his sixth over and is hit for three fours, by Travis Head. 12 from it. AUS - 224/5 (62)
10:51 AM IST: 200 Up
Ollie Robinson continues. Travis Head hits the first ball for a four, streaky, through the cordon. Five from the over. Robinson's figures: 3/35. Australia lead by 54 runs. AUS - 201/5 (58)
10:37 AM IST: Double Blow
Ollie Robinson gets David Warner (94 off 176), caught by Ben Stokes and new man Cameron Green (0 off 1) off successive deliveries. On a hat-trick. Alex Carey is the new man. AUS - 195/5 (55.3)
10:28 AM IST: Post-tea Session
Mark Wood resumes proceedings. Travis Head takes the strike. David Warner one hit from 100.
10:10 AM IST: Tea
Ollie Robinson with the final over before tea and David Warner hits the third ball for a four, to third man. Streaky. Thick edge. And safe. He's on 94 off 173. 47 runs and two wickets in the last ten overs. Australia lead by 46 runs. 44 overs remaining in the day. AUS - 193/3 (54)
10:03 AM IST: Smith Gone
Mark Wood strikes. Faintest of knicks and Steve Smith is gone for 12 off 19. Easy for Jos Buttler behind the wicket. David Warner is unbeaten on 90 off 167. Travis Head joins him in the middle. Australia lead by 42 runs. AUS - 189/3 (53)
9:50 AM IST: Review
England takes a review (50.2 overs). A defensive Steve Smith (7 off 8) beaten by a Mark Wood delivery. Wasted. No bat involved but the impact is outside the line.
9:34 AM IST: Finally...
Jack Leach on with his 7th over and is hit for a six off the first ball by Marnus Labuschagne. The second-wicket stand is now worth 156 in 253. But, the spinner gets the breakthrough the very next ball. Straight to point. Mark Wood takes the catch. A gift. Labuschagne goes for 74 off 117. Steve Smith is the new man. Australia lead by 19 runs. 166/2 (47.2)
9:19 AM IST: Aussies Take Lead
Chris Woakes on with his 13th over. A couple off the first as David Warner plays it to fine leg. And Australia take the lead, by one run. AUS - 148/1 (44.1)
8:48 AM IST: Invasion!
Scoring rate has slowed down. 36 runs in the last ten overs. But no harm done to Australia. David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne are happy with the proceedings. Some brilliant shots, interspersed with few lucky escapes. They are in a 118-run stand. Meanwhile, there's an 'invasion'. Security guards take some chasing. Australia trail by 19 runs. Chris Woakes returns for his 10th over. AUS 128/1 (38)
8:30 AM IST: Pace On For England
Mark Wood and Ollie Robinson bowling in tandem. Wood concedes five from his ninth over, including a four hit by David Warner. Australia trail by 24 runs. AUS - 123/1 (35)
8:17 AM IST: Post-lunch Session Begins
Ollie Robinson with the ball. Marnus Labuschagne takes the strike. A single off the third, and Rory Burns drops David Warner at slip. And Warner completes a streaky single to complete his fifty, in 96 balls. Easy chance. Australia trail by 32 runs. AUS - 115/1 (32)
7:33 AM IST: Lunch
Mark Wood with the final over before lunch. Three from the over. David Warner (49 off 94) and Marnus Labuschagne (53 off 77) in an unbroken second-wicket stand of 103 runs in 156 balls. The Aussie pair increased the scoring rate after a slow start, scoring 67 in the last ten overs. Australia trail by 34 runs. AUS - 113/1 (31)
7:27 AM IST: Labuschagne Fifty
Marnus Labuschagne first to reach the fifty, in 72 balls with a four past point, outscoring David Warner (47 off 89). A single and 100-run stand for the second wicket, in 147 balls. Chris Woakes conceded five from his ninth over. Australia trail by 37 runs. And Ben Stokes is seen hobbling. Not his day. AUS - 110/1 (30)
7:14 AM IST: Warner Sixes
Jack Leach with his second over. David Warner hits the first ball for a six, straight down the ground for the first maximum of the series. A dot, and another maximum. This time, over mid-on. Marnus Labuschagne then hits the last ball for a four, through cover. 17 from the over. 78 runs in 133 for the second wicket. Warner is on 46 off 81. Australia trail by 59 runs. AUS - 88/1 (27)
6:59 AM IST: Fifty-run Stand
Ben Stokes continues. Busy over. Marnus Labuschagne plays the first ball for a three, through cover. Another three, same area, then a four. A well-timed cover drive. 11 from the over. In the previous over, Mark Wood conceded seven from his sixth over. 58-run stand in 114 balls for the second wicket. Australia trail by 79 runs. AUS - 68/1 (24)
6:34 AM IST: Little Stand
A quiet period of rebuilding for Australia after losing Marcus Harris to Ollie Robinson in the 6th over. David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne have both survived chances but are still in the middle, and together, they have added 32 for the second wicket in 84 balls. 22 off those coming in the last 60 balls. Australia trail by 105 runs. AUS - 42/1 (19)
6:17 AM IST: Drinks
Ollie Robinson returns for his fifth over. David Warner hits the fifth ball for a four, to third man. Five from the over. Australia trail by 106 runs. AUS - 41/1 (16)
6:13 AM IST: Run Out Chance
Ben Stokes with his second over. A single and a wide. Marnus Labuschagne survives a run out chance while going for that single. Haseeb Hameed, from backward point, just misses the target at the non-striker's end. Australia trail by 111 runs. AUS - 36/1 (15)
6:00 AM IST: Stokes No Ball
Ben Stokes gets his first over. Immediately making chances. Induces a nick off David Warner and the ball beats the outstretched hands of David Malan at third slip for a four off the second ball. A couple of balls later, stumps! Warner (17 off 35) bowled. But a front-foot no-ball. Warner survives. Australia trail by 116 runs. AUS - 31/1 (12.4)
5:47 AM IST: Slow Start
Chris Woakes with his fourth over, and a maiden, his first, to Marnus Labuschagne. Australia trail by 127 runs. AUS - 20/1 (10)
5:27 AM IST: Bowling Change
Mark Wood gets his first over. Maiden-wicket from Ollie in the previous over. His figures: 3-2-1-1.
5:23 AM IST: Then The First Wicket...
Ollie Robinson gets his first wicket in Australia. Healthy edge and Marcus Harris is gone for 3 off 17. Caught by Dawid Malan at third slip. Marnus Labuschagne is the new man. Australia trail by 137 runs. AUS - 10/1 (5.2)
5:21 AM IST: First Boundary
David Warner hits the first four off the innings, to mid-off boundary off the first ball of the fifth over. Chris Woakes' figures so far: 0/9 in three overs. Australia trail by 137 runs. AUS - 10/0 (5)
5:04 AM IST: Busy Start
David Warner takes a quick single. Nothing dramatic, but Marcus Harris little slow off the block. Harris takes a couple off the fourth, and a single off the last. Four from the first over. Ollie Robinson to share the new ball with Chris Woakes. England were 147 all out.
4:57 AM IST: Good Morning
Players are out in the middle. Perfect conditions. David Warner And Marcus Harris to open for Australia. Chris Woakes with the new ball.
Day 2 Preview
Play will start 30 minutes early (5:00 AM IST/9:30 AM Local) on Day 2 to make up for the lost overs.
Relive fascinating Day 1, courtesy cricket.com.au, here:
Pat Cummins made a stunning debut as Australian captain in Brisbane on Wednesday. After Mitchell Starc put Australia on course after England chose to bat, five-star Cummins combined with fellow pacers Josh Hazlewood, Starc and Cameron Green to knock off all England wickets on a dramatic Day 1 of the Ashes series.
It will be England's turn on Thursday to exploit the Gabba conditions, weather permitting, of course. Whether Joe Root will miss James Anderson and Stuart Broad only time will say, but this will be the first time in five years and the first time in an Ashes Test since 2006 that England have not fielded their two most successful fast bowlers.
Thunderstorm and bad light ended play early on Wednesday. It will be a fresh day for Australia's top-order batters -- David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith -- who can all take advantage of home conditions. Warner will be under the spotlight after his T20 World Cup performance that helped Australia win their first global title in the shortest format.
Warner has played just two Tests in 23 months and was injured in both. Now, it's redemption time. Minus, Broad and Anderson, it's advantage Warner.
Steve Smith will bank on his vast reservoir of good memories in Ashes. He had been in prime form in the last two Ashes -- 1461 runs in 14 innings at 121.75 with six centuries, two double-centuries and five half-centuries.
The five-match series between the traditional rivals is part of the ICC World Test Championship 2021-23. Check the latest standings HERE.
