Australia have taken a 1-0 lead in the Ashes series after completing a comfortable ten-wicket victory over England at the Gabba.
Needing only 56 runs on the fifth and final day in Brisbane, Australia openers David Warner and Cameron Bancroft knocked over the total in just over an hour this morning.
Warner (87 not out) and Bancroft (82 not out) maintained Australia’s 29-year unbeaten record at the Gabba. England will now need to regroup ahead of the second Ashes Test in Adelaide starting on Saturday.
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Australia captain Steve Smith, who scored an unbeaten 141 in the first innings, praised his side for continuing their run at the Gabba.
Smith told the BBC: “We played some really good cricket after losing the toss on what was a really good wicket. Nathan Lyon is bowling as well as I’ve seen him bowl. He went wicketless in the first innings then got the reward in the second. Davey [Warner] and Cameron were magnificent.
“I think England have a few newish players that haven’t experienced an Ashes series before. The first Test is important and it’s nice to get it out of the way but we’ve got a big ask on our hands at Adelaide.”
Captain Joe Root rued England’s “missed chances” with both the bat and the ball in Brisbane. Speaking to BBC Test Match Special, Root said: “It doesn’t really feel like a ten-wicket defeat. We came here fully confident we could get the win. For three days we were excellent but missed a couple of chances with bat and ball in the first two innings.
“Mark [Stoneman] and Vincey [James Vince] played outstandingly well. To show that composure, character and skill in their first Ashes Test was exceptional. The wicket got better as the match went on. Steve Smith’s knock was incredible – take it out and we would’ve bowled them out for 150.”
How the cricket media reacted to Australia’s victory
While the Ashes is never won or lost after one Test match, The Times’s Michael Atherton believes a series win for England is “near impossible”.
“The gradient of the mountain facing England just got steeper. By a factor of about ten,” said former England captain Atherton. “To win in Australia is hard enough, to win having lost the opener is nigh-on impossible. Australia’s confidence will surge. They will sense a wounded prey.”
Going into the day-night Test in Adelaide, Atherton says that ultimately England’s key players such as Alastair Cook and Root “have to perform better”.
BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew says England must “fix problems” or Australia “will be out of sight” after their win in Brisbane.
While at times England competed “very strongly” at the Gabba, the tourists must address their issues because Australia are “certainly beatable”, says Agnew.
“The way batsmen got out, falling for obvious plans, was really disappointing,” he adds. “Over the course of their two innings, England had seven players get to 38, yet no one went past 83. Those scores do not win Test matches.
“England must take their lead from Steve Smith, the Australia captain who would not get drawn into the traps that were laid for him. He made 141 not out.”
Meanwhile, former England batsman Kevin Pietersen says that defeat in the day-night Test in Adelaide will mean a “long trip” for Root’s side. Pietersen would like to see spin bowler Mason Crane given a chance under the lights with the pink ball in Adelaide.
Pietersen told BT Sport: “I wouldn’t play Jake Ball in the next Test match, absolutely no chance. I’d play Mason Crane, I know it’s under lights but it’s that variation of a leg-spin bowler.
“It’s a real, real, real concern. The concern is the tail of England, it didn’t wag. The concern is the top order. Nobody seemed to be able to play the short ball well. If you want to score runs in Australia you have to play the short ball well.
“There are concerns, there are issues. If they go down in Adelaide, this could be a long trip.”
