Flukes, fingers and fumbles: moments that decided first Ashes Test

Harry Brook had scored 32 runs at almost a run a ball and looked in sublime touch when a Nathan Lyon delivery somehow hit a thigh pad, bounced high over his shoulder, landed on the back of his leg and deflected into the stumps. A complete fluke.

England were 393 for 8 in their first innings, with Joe Root purring on 118 and Ollie Robinson batting with real poise and control at the other end, when Ben Stokes called them in. They could have batted for six more overs that day but instead they chose to bowl four at Australia - Stokes called this their “chance to pounce”. They achieved little in that time, and a few extra runs would have been handy in the end.

Australia’s first innings in particular was punctuated by missed chances behind the stumps. Cameron Green could have been stumped by Jonny Bairstow for a second-ball duck and scored 38; Alex Carey was dropped twice and scored 66. In the second innings Usman Khawaja edged to Bairstow’s left in the first over. The keeper didn’t move and Khawaja went on to score 65.

There have been 17 years, and 214 Test matches, since England last bowled as many as 23 no-balls in a game. Almost 11 years have passed since Australia last benefited from so many. In the last decade England have, on average, bowled just over three per Test; at Edgbaston Stuart Broad alone bowled 11. Australia, meanwhile, bowled only four, and in total gave away 19 extras to England’s 44.

Across five days of largely benign conditions for batting there was one, wild 20-minute period when the ground was blanketed in thick, dark cloud and the ball zipped and zinged. It was England’s misfortune that it happened towards the start of their second innings, which contributed to them losing both their openers.

Moeen Ali