Australia win Ashes opener as England collapse again

Australia beat England by nine wickets in the first Ashes Test to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series; Joe Root (89) and Dawid Malan (82) fell early on day four as Nathan Lyon took his 400th Test wicket to trigger a collapse from 223-2 to 297 all out; hosts chased down 20 to win

By Sam Drury

Last Updated: 11/12/21 5:03am

Nathan Lyon took his 400th Test wicket to set Australia on their way to victory on day four

Australia completed a comprehensive nine-wicket win in the opening Ashes Test after another England batting collapse on day four at The Gabba.

Having started the day on 220-2, cautiously optimistic with Joe Root and Dawid Malan at the crease within sight of hundreds, England proceeded to lose their last eight wickets for 77 runs in the morning session to leave Australia needing just 20 to win.

After finding himself stuck on 399 Test wickets for the majority of the year, Nathan Lyon finally got No 400 to remove Malan (82) and break the 162-run stand for the tourists’ third wicket.

Cameron Green had Root (89) caught behind soon after as the England skipper’s wait for a century in Australia goes on and with the middle and lower order unable to stop the slide, the visitors were bowled out for 297 before lunch.

Ollie Robinson claimed the consolation wicket of Alex Carey (9) but Australia needed just 5.1 overs to knock off the runs to take a 1-0 series lead and inflict a seventh defeat in nine visits to Brisbane on England.

More to follow…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *