England began their 2021/22 Ashes tour on a sour note. They were knocked over for 147 before torrential rain, wet outfield and bad light brought early end to play on Day 1 at the Gabba. This is the lowest team total to begin an Ashes campaign since 1997, when Australia were bundled out for 118 at Edgbaston.
Joe Root won the toss and opted to bat, but England's good fortune ended there. Mitchell Starc cleaned up Rory Burns with the very first ball of series. Dawid Malan (6) and Root soon fell to Josh Hazlewood, and England were down to 11/3. Pat Cummins then claimed Ben Stokes (5) to reduce England to 29/4.
Haseeb Hameed (25) and Ollie Pope (35) put up some resistance, while Jos Buttler launched a counter-attacking 39 to recover England from there. But Australia’s formidable fast bowling unit, led by Cummins (5-38), was too hot for them to handle. They shared all ten wickets to skittle England out for a paltry total in 50.1 overs.
Cummins completed his sixth five-wicket haul in Test cricket on his first day as full-time Australia captain. He dismissed Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood and Chris Woakes – the last three Australia wickets – to become the first Australian captain to achieve the landmark in Ashes since Richie Benaud in 1962.
Heavy rain started during the tea interval and washed out the early part of the third session. After that, a wet outfield and insufficient light ensured no further play possible.
Brief scores: England 147 (Jos Buttler 39; Pat Cummins 5-38) vs Australia.