Former skipper Joe Root smashed his 30th Test century to propel England to a decent position. The 30-year-old right-handed batter achieved the feat during England’s first innings. Root made 118 from 152 deliveries before Ben Stokes declared the innings.
Apart from Root, opener Zak Crawley began the Ashes 2023 in grand fashion with a scintillating boundary on the very first ball. Crawley smashed 61 off 73 balls to take England to a flying start. Wicketkeeper-batter Jonny Bairstow was the other standout performer as he took the Aussies to the cleaners. Bairstow smacked 78 runs from 78 balls, with the help of 12 boundaries.
Nathan Lyon was the star performer with the ball for the Aussies, picking up four wickets for 149 runs in 29 overs. Josh Hazelwood also bagged a couple for 61 runs in 15 overs. Australia, meanwhile ended Day 1 with out any loss at 14 with David Warner (8 no) and Usman Khawaja (4 no) at the crease.
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