James Vince scored 83 as England finished on 196-4 at the close of play on day one of the first Ashes Test match in Brisbane.
England skipper Joe Root won the toss against Australia and opted to bat first at the Gabba, but the tourists were soon a wicket down as Alastair Cook fell for two.
But Vince (83) and Mark Stoneman (53) steadied the ship on a day that was affected by rain, with play suspended for 95 minutes.
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Root fell for 15 after being caught LBW by Pat Cummins. The Australia bowler finished with 2-59 after also clean bowling Stoneman.
The highlight of the day came when Vince was superbly ran out by Nathan Lyon, who produced a superb piece of fielding to deny the England batsman.
Following the match, Vince told the BBC: “It was nice to get some runs early. Not getting a ton [was] disappointing. No matter what score you get, you always want more. It would have been nice to be there at the end of the day, but stuff like that happens in cricket.
“I’m sure lying in bed I’ll have a few thoughts about missing out, but if you’d offered me 80-odd, I’d have taken it. Next time I probably won’t take that run. It was a good bit of fielding [by Lyon]. He bowled pretty well and deserved something from the day.”
Lyon believes Australia need to “come out and bowl well” on day two, which starts half an hour earlier than the opening day, at 11.30pm tonight, because of the the rain delay.
He told BT Sport: “It was a good challenge with Stoneman and Vince batting well, so we’re happy with that fightback. It will harden up and still be good to bowl on for the quicks, so we’re looking forward to tomorrow.
“England are a great side and we need to come out and bowl well. I’m very happy with the run out - you practice it all day at training so it’s nice to see it come off.
“For me, it was one of those days where you create chances with the ball and they miss. I thought I bowled well without much luck.”
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