Pat Cummins Nathan Lyon Alex Carey Jonny Bairstow Brendon Maccullum Australia Birmingham cricket England Things Pat Cummins Nathan Lyon Alex Carey Jonny Bairstow Brendon Maccullum Australia Birmingham

Slow and steady trumps 'Bazball': 3 things we learned from thrilling Ashes opener

news24.com

Australia's dramatic two-wicket win in the first Test at Edgbaston on Tuesday ensured a hugely-anticipated Ashes series got off to a thrilling start as skipper Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon's unbroken stand of 55 turned the tables on England.WATCH | Stokes 'devastated' by defeat in Ashes opener, but has no regrets over 'Bazball'Below AFP Sport looks at three things we learned from a gripping encounter between the arch-rivals. Slow and steady can win the race Much of the talk before this series was about how World Test champions Australia would combat England's aggressive 'Bazball' style.They did it in Birmingham by staying true to their own game, no one more so than Usman Khawaja, who spent over 13 hours at the crease while compiling scores of 141 - his first Ashes hundred in England - and 65."He showed composure in both innings, playing at his own pace, playing his own method and didn't get caught up in anything else," said Cummins of the left-handed opener. Fallible fielding hurts England England might still have won this match had they taken all their chances.Wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow, despite making a run-a-ball 78 in England's first innings, also dropped a few catches and missed a stumping after the hosts decided to omit Ben Foakes, arguably a better gloveman, but not as good a batsman.But with captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum having backed Bairstow as their keeper, it would be a major surprise if Foakes was recalled on form in the remainder of this five-match series.

Meanwhile, Australia's Alex Carey, had an excellent match behind the stumps and also made useful runs. In a spin Lyon's batting heroics may be the headline act from his performance at Edgbaston, but by then he had already starred in his

Related News
England have left out all-time leading wicket-taker James Anderson in one of three changes to their side for a must-win third Ashes Test against Australia at Headingley starting on Thursday, with express quick Mark Wood, seam-bowling all-rounder Chris Woakes and spinner Moeen Ali recalled.Both Anderson and fellow paceman Josh Tongue have been rested as England bid to keep the Ashes alive at 2-0 down in the five-Test series following a 43-run defeat at Lord's last week.
Since the controversial dismissal of England wicket-keeper batter Jonny Bairstow on Day 5 of the Lord's Test, the cricketing fraternity is divided in deciding if it was right for Australia to play by the 'rules of the game' but keep the 'spirit of the game' aside. While England captain Ben Stokes said that he wouldn't want to win the game in such a manner, Australia batter Travis Head has revealed that Bairstow tired to dismiss him in the same manner during the Edgbaston Test, and the two even had a chat about it.
England star player Joe Root registered a huge record during the end of Day 1 of the ongoing second Ashes Test at the iconic Lord's Stadium in London. He became only the third player in history to score more than 2,000 runs and also bag 20 wickets in the Ashes. Australia's Warwick Armstrong (2,172 runs and 74 wickets) and England's Wally Hammond (2,852 runs and 36 wickets) are the two others who achieved this milestone. After removing Travis Head and Cameron Green in the same over, Root attained this milestone.
Australia prevailed over England by two wickets in the first Ashes Test, which was played last week at Edgbaston. The visitors held their nerves as Pat Cummins (44*) and Nathan Lyon (16*) stitched an unbeaten partnership of 55 runs and took their side across the line in the chase of 281. The Ben Stokes-led side now eye redemption as both sides gear up for the second Test, which will get underway on June 28. Ahead of the crucial clash at Lord's, England opener Zak Crawley has made a bold prediction.
England captain Ben Stokes has been under the scanner for his captaincy after Australia won the first Ashes Test by 2 wickets at Edgbaston earlier this week. The narrow loss left England 0-1 down in the five-match Ashes contest as they bid for a first Ashes win over arch rivals Australia since 2015. Stokes' decision to declare on the first day before England had scored 400 was heavily criticised by several current and former players even before the conclusion of the match.
Ben Stokes said he felt "devastated" by England's dramatic two-wicket defeat in the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston but insisted his aggressive approach could yet secure a series win over Australia.

Latest News

Change privacy settings
This page might use cookies if your analytics vendor requires them.