ustralia’s dominance of the opening day of the Ashes continued as they bowled England out for 147, with new skipper Pat Cummins taking five wickets, before rain lashed down at the Gabba.
England were skittled in just 50.1 overs, with the final wicket falling on the stroke of tea, at which point the rain began to fall.
England suffered a disastrous start, losing Rory Burns to the first ball of the series and stumbling to 29 for four, with Joe Root and Ben Stokes back in the hutch.
Youngsters Haseeb Hameed and Ollie Pope began a rebuild, which was continued by Jos Buttler, but none of them could convert a cameo into something more substantial as Australia – led by Cummins – bowled and caught superbly.
After Hameed and Pope battled to reach lunch, Cummins dismissed the former – caught at second slip by Steve Smith – in the first over after lunch for 25. Smith was the last of Australia’s cordon to take a catch, with their hands perfectly safe.
Buttler launched an impressive counterattack, targeting Josh Hazlewood, who had been superb in the morning (with figures of…
