The Ashes 2023: England v Australia, second Test, day one – as it happened

That’s it for today. Thanks for your company and emails, and apologies I didn’t have time to read them all. Please join Geoff and Daniel Harris for coverage of the second day. Big first session!

Sir Andrew Strauss’s verdict

Marnus speaks

It’s an amazing day for us. We could have been only three down but you’ll take that score when you’re sent in on a wicket that we thought had a fair bit in it.

The openers did such a good job. If you can get through 15/20 overs, just get through… especially the likes of Stuart Broad, when he gets his tail up he goes to another level. The opening partnership shut that out and took it out of play.

[On the fast scoring rate] It’s just the way it turned out. Steve came out with a lot of intent – beautiful, got in some great positions. Travis has been doing this for a year and a half now, taking the game on.

I’ve done a lot of work since Edgbaston. I didn’t like the position I was getting in, with my left foot getting too far across, because I felt like that drew me into playing that fifth/sixth-stump line. Getting my back foot onto off stump, and being more open, really helped me to leave the ball outside off.

The wickets we’ve played on this summer haven’t had a lot of bounce. When that happens it sucks you in a little bit because you can’t trust your leave the way you can in Australia.

Oh, and this happened

0:32

Steve Smith, 15 runs away from yet another century, walks off with Alex Carey after helping Australia take control at Lord’s. England won what looked like a brilliant toss, but their seamers (and fielders) were well off the pace and Australia – who were positive throughout, even when the ball was talking – punished them.

David Warner set the tone with a busy 66. Marnus Labuschagne added 47 and then Travis Head ran riot during a 73-ball 77. It would have been worse for England had Joe Root not taken two wickets in four balls shortly before the close. That has given England a chance with the second new ball in the morning. But after only six days of the series, they are right on the edge.

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83rd over: Australia 339-5 (Smith 85, Carey 10) Broad tries to whip up the crowd, which won’t be easy given that some of them entered deep sleep about two hours ago. He has four slips for Carey, who defends a dangerous outswinger with authority. The rest of the over is harmless enough, and so ends a brilliant first day for Australia at Lord’s.

82nd over: Australia 339-5 (Smith 85, Carey 10) Robinson has a bit of rhythm so he continues with the new ball. Smith, trying to drive, thick edges wide of the slips for four. It was all along the ground but a false stroke nonetheless.

An LBW shout against Smth is caught in the throat because of a late inside edge, though it was probably too high anyway.

Time for one more over, to be bowled by a stiff Stuart Broad.

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81st over: Australia 333-5 (Smith 80, Carey 9) Joe Root is going to continue even though the new ball is available. Anderson and Broad look tired and grumpy; it makes sense to save them for a big push in the morning.

Carey defends carefully aganst Root, as he has since coming to the crease. And now, with about six minutes remaining, England are going to take the new ball.

“As much as I hate the ‘show me the way to home’ song, I can’t help but feel the genteel Lord’s atmosphere hasn’t helped England,” says Henry Rawlings. “Last week Broad was pumping them up, now everyone, players and crowd all feel ready for the way home...”

That’s a good point. It has been flat all day, although I suppose it’s up to England to change the atmosphere.

80th over: Australia 332-5 (Smith 78, Carey 10) Robinson still has three slips for Carey, even with a ball that is 80 overs old. It has moved around all day – not lavishly, but enough for 330-5 to be a very good score – and Carey inside-edges just past leg stump. I do think Australia have had the rub of the green today, although England probably had it at Edgbaston. Australia have also played by far the better cricket.

“In every Ashes home win this century – bar 2013 – there has been one Test when the wheels spectacularly came off. We lost by 239 in 2005, an innings in 2009 and 405 runs in 2015,” says Max Williams. “However those series were poised at 0-0, 1-0 and 1-0 respectively (plus a bonus innings defeat when 3-1 up in 2015).

”History, Australia’s quality and the nature of Bazball suggested that England were likely to get a shellacking at some point over this series. You really, really don’t want it arriving at 0-1 down. Another reason why that declaration is ageing like milk. Still, even if the shellacking happens this match at least we’ve got it out of the way.

”Two reasons for optimism: firstly, until England have batted then it’s too early to declare this match lost. Secondly, if there’s any team who won’t be cowed by a 0-2 deficit, who might even relish the opportunity to make more history, then it’s England under Stokes. But I’d really rather not find out.”

79th over: Australia 329-5 (Smith 78, Carey 9) Smith continues to potter towards a century, working Root off his pads for a single. Root is mixing his pace up nicely but, as you’d expect on day one, there’s nothing much in this pitch for him.

78th over: Australia 327-5 (Smith 77, Carey 8) Carey, who was quietly superb at Edgbaston, drives Robinson confidently through mid-off for three more. I don’t know what to make of Robinson today. His figures are extremely expensive by his standards (19-3-77-1), his pace has been below 80mph and we’ve barely heard the mouth from the south. But he also got Labuschagne with a beauty and has beaten the bat on multiple occasions.

“On the list of fastest Ashes hundreds, you missed Joe Darling’s 85-ball ton in 91 minutes at Sydney in 1898, which dominated Oz’s chase of 275 for only four down,” says Marcus Abdullahi. “Well batted, Darling!”

Ah yes, so I did. I had a few too many that day so it’s always been a bit hazy.

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77th over: Australia 323-5 (Smith 76, Carey 5) A quiet over from Root this time, three singles from it.

“Bazball is a great strategy - successful and great to watch,” says Jeremy Smith. “It doesn’t need ditching, it needs refining in response to match conditions. Maybe the problem is that England see subtle corrections as weakness and Stokes and McCullum would rather double-down than admit that a slight change to the same basic strategy might work better.”

Last summer there were some crucial periods of sensible batting, most notably by Ben Stokes and Ben Foakes when they squared the series against Old Trafford. Maybe the absence of Foakes – “the designated driver”, as my colleague Tim de Lisle calls him – has had a subtle impact in that regard.

76th over: Australia 320-5 (Smith 75, Carey 3) Robinson goes round the wicket to Carey, who drives pleasantly for three to get off the mark. Another wicket here – there are around 20 minutes remaining – would make things interesting tomorrow morning, though I still think Australia are well on top. A par score feels like 250-300.

“The issue here is not Bazball per se, it’s the poor execution of pretty basic cricket,” says Simon Bancroft-Rimmer. “Bowl a length, catch the catches, cut out the byes and no balls. I love the aggressive approach and have no issue with it, but England have been sloppy.”

Yes they’ve been largely dreadful today, which can happen to any team. The bit I can’t fathom is the lack of intensity, particularly in the first session.

I knew this would come in handy at some stage.

75th over: Australia 316-5 (Smith 74, Carey 0) England put Australia into bat in perfect seam-bowling conditions, so if you’d could just explain these numbers to me please.

Seamers 3 wickets for 279

Spinner 2 wickets for 13

Test cricket, eh. England, who were all over the place five minutes ago, now have a hint of an opportunity. Cameron Green has gone third ball, smearing a short ball from Root straight to mid-off. It was an ugly shot, which he’d love to rewind and try again.

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England celebrated that wicket very angrily, which I suppose is understandable after such a chastening day. Bairstow started growling and looked like he wanted to chin someone, and Root shouted “I told you! I told you!” at someone, possibly Ben Stokes.

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Travis Head’s brutal innings is over. Root saw/sensed him coming and floated the ball higher and wider. Head ran past it, almost knocking himself off his feet as he swung to leg, and Bairstow completed an awkward stumping before growling in triumph.

Clever bowling from Root, and Head goes for a thrilling 73-ball 77.

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74th over: Australia 315-3 (Smith 73, Head 77) Stokes is forced to go back to Ollie Robinson. Never mind the fastest Ashes hundreds (Gilchrist 57 balls, Jessop 76, Botham 86 on two occasions), apparently the fastest century by an Australian in England is Victor Trumper’s 95-ball classic at Old Trafford in 1902.

Despite a quiet over from Robinson, Head (77 from 72 balls) is on course for that.

73rd over: Australia 312-3 (Smith 72, Head 75) Root is launched for another boundary down the ground, Head’s 14th in this innings.

It’s time to look up the fastest Ashes hundreds because Head is going ballistic. He won’t break the record – Adam Gilchrist scored one off 57 balls (I think) at Perth in 2006-07 – but he’ll be high on the list if he gets to three figures.

72nd over: Australia 308-3 (Smith 72, Head 71) Head slugs a short ball from Tongue through mid-on for his 12th four, and then a pulled single brings up the hundred partnership in only 104 balls. England are back in their worst nightmare, the void 2021-22 series, wondering how the hell to bowl to Travis Head.

Hang on, is Smith out here? He walks across to Tongue and finally misses a work to leg. Chris Gaffaney says not out… and Stokes decides not to review. That looked extremely close to me. Replays confirm the ball would have hit the top of leg stump – but it was umpire’s call so Smith would have survived even if England had reviewed.

My word, this is a riduclously eventful over. Stokes hurts his thumb stopping a Smith cover drive – he may even have dislocated it – and then Head whirls another pull for four.

Smith was 43 not out when Head came to the crease; they’re now neck and neck.

71st over: Australia 293-3 (Smith 70, Head 61) Root, on for Broad, is slog-swept emphatically for four by Smith, who is having a much more comfortable time than he did on this ground four years ago. What England would give for the 2019 version of Jofra Archer now.

Ben Stokes’ assertion that he will never play for a draw is going to get a helluva a test here, because we are almost – almost – at the stage where England can’t win this game.

70th over: Australia 288-3 (Smith 66, Head 61) England are in danger of throwing the Bazball out with the bathwater. They’re approaching a full-on sulk, and Australia are taking full advantage. Smith crashes another cover drive for four. Australia were 39-0 after 17 overs, I think, which means they’ve belted 249 from the last 53 overs. Ouch.

“It’s surely debatable whether it was one of the worst declarations in history, as in your list of reasons for England’s current situation,” says John Burton. ““If I argue that they came closer to winning by declaring when they did, what am I missing? Had they batted on successfully, what evidence is there that a result would have been more likely? Obviously, they also made the loss more possible, but the current approach seems to be all about winning the game, and I’m loath to criticise that until the win is realistically impossible. It is/was open to criticism, but I don’t see how it can be so categorically wrong (especially to those celebrating the current approach ahead of the series).”

I agree it’s completely debatable, and I might well be wrong (it’s hardly without precedent). But that’s what I thought at the time and I haven’t really changed my mind, even though I admire Stokes’s commitment to entertainment. I thought the declaration, unlike his others as captain, was performative and forced, and failed to take into account a) that Joe Root was at the buffet and b) the ball was doing nothing. I realise this is just speculation because Ben Stokes won’t let me in his subconscious.

More importantly, I would argue that, while it increased the chances of a positive result, it reduced the chances of an England win. We’ll never know, and I realise there are a gazillion other factors – had England taken their catches, they would have won anyway.

I just don’t really understand flushing maybe 50 runs in the first Test of an Ashes series.

69th over: Australia 284-3 (Smith 62, Head 61) A fullish delivery from Broad is laced through extra cover for four more by Head. Pick that out! He’s all over a weary England attack, just as he was against India on day one of the World Test Championship final.

Another screaming straight drive hits Broad’s outstretched boot and still races away to the fence at long off. He has 61 from 56 balls.

“In dire situations like this I’m always reminded of the 1953 England vs Hungary football match,” says Brian Withington, speaking for us all, “where the bewildered home side found themselves 4-2 down at half time against the magnificent Magical Magyars. Undaunted, the Pathé Newsreel commentator assured the viewer at the restart that with ‘three quick goals’ England would be right back on top of things. Impressive confidence given that the commentary was presumably recorded after England had already lost 6-3. (It was before my time, I hasten to add.)

“Anyway, here goes my 70th anniversary version: ‘Three quick wins and England will be right on top of this series…’

68th over: Australia 274-3 (Smith 62, Head 51) Smith plays his best shot of the session, clattering a full ball from Tongue whence it came for four. It was so straight that it went between Tongue’s legs.

Head pulls Tongue sweetly for four to reach a blistering half-century from only 48 balls. England are in all sorts here.

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67th over: Australia 264-3 (Smith 57, Head 46) Head is beaten, flashing vigorously at a wide delivery from Broad. The Mo of Doom keeps swinging, though, and he drags the last ball of the over through midwicket for two more.

“I actually think the criticism has been over the top as well,” says Dechlan Brennan. “I just think if perhaps a batsman is prepared to take their time (I’m thinking a couple of the stumpings in the first Test) it’s going to be impossible to beat this England team. I think they will lose Tests mostly by themselves rather than be beaten.

“Enya cabin time would be a vibe though.”

Yep, I agree with great: she’s just a great singer, end of Lyon is so wily that I would think carefully about giving him the charge, especially when playing as well as Bairstow (in the first innings) and Root (in the second). They got a bit carried away.

It’s hard to be too critical, though, because Bairstow getting carried away against New Zealand at Trent Bridge is what started all this fun.

66th over: Australia 261-3 (Smith 56, Head 44) Head is unsettled by the short ball for the first time in this innings. He’s beaten twice by Tongue, both times trying to cut or uppercut, and fences another short ball round the corner for four. There’s no leg gully in place today.

Drinks. I’ll have the Kool-Aid.

65th over: Australia 256-3 (Smith 55, Head 40) “Head’s batting since Brisbane 2021 is firmly in Bazball territory,” says Dechlan Brennan. “Perhaps one or two batsmen who are happy to anchor for England would bring their batting to the next level and remove some of their recklessness.”

I really do think that all this Bazball criticism is misplaced. They’ve won 11 out of 14 Tests playing this way, repeatedly chasing huge targets. Of course there are things they might have done differently at Edgbaston, especially against Nathan Lyon. But England’s biggest problems in this series have been a) half the team are either rusty or injured, which is partly their own fault b) Ben Stokes made one of the worst declarations in Test history, c) they’ve bowled poorly today and d) Australia are the best team in the world.

Even if England lose this series 5-0 and Baz and Ben bugger off to a cabin in the woods halfway through the Oval Test, listening to nothing but Enya until winter solstice, we shouldn’t lose sight of how exhilarating, life-affirming and fun this last year has been. They’d won one Test in 19!

64th over: Australia 252-3 (Smith 54, Head 37) Head hooks Tongue confidently for a single, then Smith is beaten by a wide delivery that keeps a bit low. He blinks demonstratively and then goes back to work.

England won the toss by the way.

63rd over: Australia 248-3 (Smith 52, Head 35) It’s a double bowling change for England, with Broad on for Anderson at the Nursery End. He starts with a leg-side delivery to Head that flies away for four leg-byes; then Head edges a big drive through the vacant gully region for four more.

Ben Stokes looks like he’s losing the will. The ball is still doing plenty, which makes this scoreline hard to fathom. Broad makes that point with a nasty, lifting awayswinger that beats Head all ends up. And then Head reminds me of what the scoreboard says with a tremendous flick through midwicket for four. That brings up a rapid fifty partnership in 54 balls.

“Regarding Head,” says Ian Copestake. “Can we have our Bazball back, please.”

Our Travis predates Bazball. Well, he predates the England version.

62nd over: Australia 236-3 (Smith 52, Head 27) Josh Tongue returns to the attack, which will probably mean some chin music for Travis Head.

Head makes his intentions known with a thrilling cut for four. There wasn’t much wrong with the delivery, which cramped Head for room from round the wicket, but he slammed it past cover point anyway. He has raced to 27 from 26 balls.

61st over: Australia 230-3 (Smith 52, Head 22) Smith thick edges a couple after being turned round by a good delivery from Robinson. He’s having a bit of a mid-innings blip, though it isn’t the worst time: with Head going at almost a run a ball, Smith can just hang around.

Smith is still fluent enough to drive Robinson for three to reach a dominant half-century from 102 balls. It’s been an innings of two halves: 25 from 16 balls to take control, then 26 from 86 to start the process of grinding England down.

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60th over: Australia 222-3 (Smith 46, Head 20) Anderson tries the age-old trick to Smith: outside off, outside off, outside off, outside off, middle stump. Smith works it off the pads, as he always does, this time for a single.

Another economical over from Anderson, who has figures of 15-4-29-0. He’s bowled… okay, but Australia have played him very well.

59th over: Australia 221-3 (Smith 45, Head 20) Head has a stroke of luck, inside-edging Robinson just past leg stump for two. There’s no chance it will change his approach, though, and he hits Robinson for two boundaries in three balls later in the over. A back-foot force past point was followed by a crisp clip through midwicket.

England have bowled too much rubbish. After an understandably slow start to the day, Australia have scored 178 from the last 42 overs.

58th over: Australia 211-3 (Smith 45, Head 10) The old ball is still swinging for Anderson. Head chases a very wide delivery and slices it just short of Rehan Ahmed at backward point; at the other end, Smith looks intimidatingly secure. He has taken his Smith 2.0 average at Lord’s to 137.

“This is as agonising as we all know and love Rob,” says Guy Hornsby. “I’m trying to figure out what’s more of a disappointment, Pope’s drop or his potential shoulder injury. I know this is a brave new world, but Broad at 7 feels pretty dicey. Six and out is an even steeper task. However crucial Marnus’ wicket was, what do you think Australia will be happy with? 450? 500? Presume they’ll want to bat as long as possible and exert scoreboard (and series) pressure as they do so well. It’s a very long way to go, but this is hardly Ponting 2005 at Edgbaston (yet).”

I suspect they’d be happy enough with 350. Anything over 400 should give them complete control of the game. I say ‘should’ because England won after conceding some big first-innings scores last summer.

57th over: Australia 209-3 (Smith 44, Head 9) Robinson releases the pressure with a rank bad ball that Head belabours to the cover boundary. Whatever the weather, whatever the score, Head will attack. In this phase of career, since his recall at the start of the last Ashes, he has a strike rate of 81.

Robinson somehow beats Head’s inside edge and his off stump with a beauty from round the wicket, though it was a no-ball so any wicket wouldn’t have counted. But Robinson ends the over as he started, with a short, wide delivery that is slammed to the cover boundary.

56th over: Australia 198-3 (Smith 43, Head 0) All day this has looked like the kind of pitch on which you can lose wickets in clusters, and that thought should sustain England. If they can get Smith soon – and I appreciate that is a Brobdingnagian ‘if’ – they will have a foothold in the game.

A maiden from Anderson to Smith, who is in for bed and breakfast. Smith started like Steve Waugh, racing to 24 from 15 balls, before settling down. Since then he has made 19 from 74 balls.

“I took that wicket!” says Jane Tubby. “I went to get a biscuit. But it’s almost midnight here in Broome, not sure how many more biscuits I can manage!”

You line up seven more and we’ll worry about the consequences in the morning.

55th over: Australia 198-3 (Smith 43, Head 0) Robinson greets Head with a decent bumper, although that won’t be England’s line of attack (or rather length) to Head on this pitch. The last ball of an excellent over, which swings back and doesn’t miss off stump by that much, is more like it. It was a safe leave from Head though.

“Has Anderson got old overnight?” says Max Williams. “Edgbaston was one thing – although I thought his grouching over the pitch a tad melodramatic. (Broad coped OK.) But by all accounts, conditions this morning were tailor-made and again he’s wicketless. He turns 41 in July. Was this one series too far?”

I think it’s too early to say, especially as he needs the rhythm of bowling regularly to be at his best. But he has defied our old friend Father Time for so long – most seamers finish in their mid-30s – that when it does go, it will go quickly.

Nothing nude about this nut: Ollie Robinson has dismissed Labuschagne with a beauty. It was angled in from over the wicket and snapped off the seam to take a very thin edge. Jonny Bairstow did the rest.

Labuschagne falls three short of fifty, but that was an important innings for him and the team. He looked like Marnus again.

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54th over: Australia 198-2 (Labuschagne 47, Smith 43) Still a bit too wide from Anderson, although he does induce a thick edge from Labuschagne with a nice outswinger.

England need a wicket to change the mood. It’s so quiet at Lord’s, you could hear an urn drop.

And on the sixth day of the series, the England fans started to gently weep.

“This is depressingly like watching the England of… well, pretty much any series between 1986-87 and 2005, really,” says Richard O’Hagan. “Australia assured, England clueless and impotent, Ashes on their way back down under.”

53rd over: Australia 196-2 (Labuschagne 46, Smith 43) Smith offers no shot to a big nipbacker from Robinson, who implores Ahsan Raza to give it out LBW. He thinks about it for a while before eventually saying ‘not out’. Stokes isn’t interested a review, thinking it was too high. He’s right, though it was pretty close.

Labuschagne pulls a single to bring up an unsympathetic hundred partnership from 144 balls. They’ve played quite superbly – Smith throughout, Labuschagne after a nervous start.

52nd over: Australia 194-2 (Labuschagne 45, Smith 42) Jimmy Anderson comes on at the Nursery End, which rarely happens. It shows: his first ball is miles wide off stump and ignored by Labuschagne. He tightens his line as the over progresses, but Labuschagne is still able to leave most deliveries. A maiden.

“A quick question,” says William de Quetteville. “Is there an argument for requiring batters to stay in their crease? I’m intrigued by quite how far outside it the likes of Labuschagne are standing. I’ve no dog in the fight as both sides are doing it & nor am I an expert so interested in your view.”

If you can wait half an hour, I’ll ask an expert. Do you mean before the ball is bowled, or at any time? Either way I don’t personally think there’s an argument for it. It’s one of the more interesting facets of the game, which brings a bit of cat and mouse to Test cricket.