Australia clinch Ashes opener

Australia have just won the first Ashes Test at the Edgbaston beating England by a massive margin of 251 runs.

Facing a daunting total of 398 for victory, England lost all their wickets in 146 runs batted only 52.3 overs in the ultimate day.

Nathan Lyon bagged six wickets as England lost four wickets for 12 runs either side of lunch on the last day. At one stage they collapsed to 97-7 before eventually being dismissed for less than an average total.

Off-spinner Lyon finished with an impressive figure of 6 for 49. With that he also touched the milestone of 350 Test wicket. Fast bowler Pat Cummins grabbed the rest 4 wickets conceding 32 runs.

Resuming the day with 13 without loss, England lost their first wicket adding six runs on the board. Rory Burns, who proclaimed inaugural Test century in the first inning with 133, could add just four runs with his overnight tally before being caught in the gully by Lyon against a rising Cummins’ delivery.

By the time Joe Denly and Joe Root both were caught close to the wicket with the ball turning in the hands of Lyon, the job was turned into severe difficulty for the English.

In came Cummins to remove Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow forcing England to 6 down for 97. Everything the home team had at that moment was Ben Stokes but the World Cup hero soon fall to Lyon with six runs beside his name.

It became a matter of moments for Australia to seal the match from then on and Nathan Lyon finished it in grand style.

It was, however, the first victory for Australia in Edgbaston since 2001 ending England’s race of 11 successive wins at the ground.

Brief Score:

Australia 1^st innings 284 all out (80.4 overs)

Steven Smith 144, Peter Siddle 44, Travis Head 35

Stuart Broad 5/86, Chris Woakes 3/58

England 1^st innings 374 all out (135.5 overs)

Rory Burns 133, Joe Root 57, Ben Stokes 50

Pat Cummins 3/84, Nathan Lyon 3/112, Peter Siddle 2/52

Australia 2^nd innings 487/7 (112 overs)

Steven Smith 142, Mathew Wade 110, Travis Head 51

Ben Stokes 3/85, Moeen Ali 2/130

England 2^nd innings 146 all out (52.3 overs)

Chris Woakes 37, Joe Root 28, Jason Roy 28

Nathan Lyon 6/49, Pat Cummins 4/32

Result: Australia won by 251 runs.

Toss: Australia.

Man of the Match: Steven Smith

"Same old Aussies, always winning," chant the Hollies stand. Fair play. #ENGvAUS

— Isabelle Westbury (@izzywestbury) August 5, 2019

Will be hard for England not to panic, but they should try to resist. Australia's best player had one of his finest ever Tests; England's best player was involved for just over half an hour. Sometimes, circumstances conspire against you. #Ashes

— Ben Jones (@benjonescricket) August 5, 2019

England had Australia 122-8 on day one and ended up losing by 251 runs.
That's a catastrophic defeat in anyone's book.

— John Etheridge (@JohnSunCricket) August 5, 2019