Adelaide: England captain Joe Root was no doubt mindful of recent history at Adelaide Oval when he sent Australia in to bat on winning the toss in the second Ashes Test here, Saturday.
In the two previous day-night Tests, the visiting teams – New Zealand in 2015 and South Africa 2016 – decided to bat after winning the toss and eventually succumbed to defeat against the Aussies.
So one could hardly blame Root for opting for a different path, but that will not stop the Sunday morning quarterbacks from second-guessing his decision, which somewhat backfired when his opening bowlers James Anderson (1/45) and Stuart Broad (0/39) wasted the new ball, though the day was not a complete disaster, with Australia 209 for four wickets at stumps.
Anderson and Broad posed few problems for Australian opening batsmen David Warner (47, 102b, 5×4) and Cameron Bancroft (10) early on. With 899 Test wickets between them, they rarely looked like making it 900 as they sent down too many short deliveries with the pink ball which passed through harmlessly to the wicketkeeper during the early stages. Broad lasted only three overs in his first spell before Chris Woakes (1/50) replaced him.
The hosts were in total control with Warner and Bancroft playing dodgy cricket. However a misunderstanding between the duo following a misfield by Moeen Ali, led to an unfortunate run-out of Bancroft.
Warner then added 53 runs for the second wicket with Usman Khawaja (53, 112b, 8×4) before being caught behind off a Chris Woakes (1/47) delivery. Later, Khawaja and skipper Steve Smith (40, 90b, 3×4) added another 53 to the Australian total, with Khawaja reaching his half century in the process.
However, it was Anderson who got rid of the dangerous looking left-hander. Smith too followed him shortly after England debutant Craig Overton (1/50) dismissed him with a beauty.
Peter Handscomb (36 batting, 83b, 5×4) and Shaun Marsh (20 batting, 58b, 2×4) then ensured the hosts would suffer no more damages on the day with an unbeaten 48-run stand.
Brief scores
Australia 209/4 (Usman Khawaja 53, David Warner 47; James Anderson 1/45) vs England. Match to continue.
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