England were bundled out for 273, leaving Australia with four sessions to chase down the total. Nathan Lyon and Pat Cummins returned four wickets each. The visitors lost David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne in quick succession in pursuit of 281 after a 61-run opening partnership between Usman Khawaja and Warner. England’s hopes of defending the total were buoyed when Stuart Broad induced an edge from Steve Smith. Australia ended the day on 107/3, needing 174 runs to win the Ashes opener at Edgbaston.
Earlier, England found some resistance from their tailenders after a length ball from Pat Cummins came in sharply off the seam to trap Ben Stokes plumb. A flighted off-break from Nathan Lyon pitched in the line of middle stump and turned in from round the wicket to hit Jonny Bairstow on the pad as he missed the reverse-sweep. These were significant blows for the home team and Australia started smelling blood as soon as they went past Moeen Ali too.
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