Ashes 5th Test: Day 1 – Australia take firm control

The fifth and final Test of the Ashes 2023 finally got underway at The Oval in London, and both England and Australia looked keen on getting off to a good start in the game. Trailing 1-2 in the series, England will be aiming to level the score as they missed out on the opportunity for the same due to rain playing spoilsport in Manchester.

Coming out to bat first after losing the toss, England got off to a subpar start to the game as openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett scored 22 and 41 runs, respectively. Furthermore, Moeen Ali added another 34 runs on the board before Joe Root failed to make an impact with a score of just five runs. It was the knock of youngster Harry Brook that stood out for the hosts, the 24-year-old scored a brilliant 85 runs in 91 deliveries and helped his side post 283 runs on the board in the first innings.

Mitchell Starc looked to be in sensational form in the first innings, taking four wickets and piling on the pressure for England. Furthermore, Todd Murphy and Josh Hazlewood took two wickets each, with Pat Cummins and Mitchell March both striking once. As the Aussies came out to bat, they lost opener, David Warner, early for 24 runs, and by the time stumps were called on Day 1, the visitors found themselves at a score of 61 runs with the loss of one wicket with Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne on the strike.

Talking points from Day 1:

Harry Brook’s resilience

Day 1 of the fifth Ashes Test belonged to 24-year-old Harry Brook. With his brilliant knock of 85 runs in 91 deliveries, he stabilized the innings for the hosts and helped them reach a total of 283 runs in the first innings of the final game.

Mitchell Starc masterclass:

With England looking to trouble the Aussies with the bat, star pacer Mitchell Starc took centre stage and wreaked havoc on the hosts. Taking four wickets, Starc made sure that England did not cross the 300-run mark. Starc dismissed the likes of Brook, skipper Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, and Stuart Broad to stamp his authority on the game

Chris Woakes’ late push

One of the biggest reasons why England were able to reach a total of 283 runs in the first innings was the knock of Chris Woakes. Coming out to bat in the lower order, Woakes amassed a very important 36 runs in just as many deliveries to maximize the first innings’ total.