Australia unscathed after England's 393-8 on day one of the Ashes

Australia survive tough session after Ben Stokes’ surprise declaration with England 393-8… as Joe Root stars with an unbeaten century on a thrilling first day of The Ashes at Edgbaston

• Joe Root’s 118* took England to 393-8 on day one of the Ashes at Edgbaston
• Ben Stokes declared late on after fifties for Zak Crawley and Jonny Bairstow 
• Australia ended the day unscathed in response after an excellent day’s cricket 

There was no danger of anti-climax on the first day of this highly anticipated series. No concerns about hyperbole after such a long build-up.

Just superb, fluctuating and, above all, highly entertaining Ashes cricket for a packed and raucous Edgbaston to enjoy. Goodness, there was even an England declaration against all of the accepted cricketing Test logic that they are simply consigning to history.

From the moment Zak Crawley crashed Pat Cummins very first ball through the covers rapidly to the boundary, the opening salvo of what is already expected to be a classic Ashes lived up to every last bit of hype.

First Crawley made the sort of impact England want from him in both that opening statement and by moving on to a top quality 61 before falling to the last ball before lunch.

Then Australia threatened to take control when they reduced England to 176 for five, Harry Brook falling to a bizarre dismissal and Ben Stokes following him seven balls later.

Joe Root made a classy hundred on a scintillating first day of the Ashes at Edgbaston

The former skipper brought out the reverse scoop as England made 393-8 at five runs per over

England countered as only they can through the bulldozing return of Jonny Bairstow, back from such a horrible and freak injury and now smashing a run a ball 78 in carrying on where he left off last summer.

Just as England looked poised to make the very most of winning what looked an important toss – Stokes resisting the urge to say ‘we’ll chase’ – they handed the initiative back to Australia by gifting Alex Carey two simple stumpings off Nathan Lyon.

But any danger of under-achievement was averted by the sheer class of Joe Root, firstly joining Bairstow in a rip-roaring stand of 111 in 23 overs and then going on to a magnificent hundred in combining classy stroke-play with the odd splash of Bazball.

Then came the biggest twist of all with an utterly bonkers but totally brilliant and absolutely in character declaration from Stokes after Root had smashed Lyon for two sixes in an over to take his score to 118 and England to 393 for eight off just 78 overs.

As first days go this was right up there with the most famous of them all here at Edgbaston in 2005 when Ricky Ponting asked England to bat and then saw them rattle up 407 in 79.2 overs. And we all know how that Test and series ended.

It was a sustained blow from which that Australia side never recovered and now England have put psychological pressure on this one by doing what they would have least expected them to do, even though David Warner and Usman Khawaja held on to the close.

For now this should be celebrated mainly as Root’s day. The former captain who had such a torrid time in charge in the last Ashes in Australia was simply sublime, making a mockery of concerns he was wasting his time sitting on the Rajasthan Royals bench at the IPL ahead of this series rather than getting red-ball practice with Yorkshire.

There were superb strokes aplenty from Root, who made a point of standing half a metre further outside his crease than usual, and two straight out of the Bazball playbook when he reverse ramped Scott Boland for six and then repeated the blow off the best and fastest of the lot in Cummins. He can combine old and new in perfect harmony.

Zak Crawley set the tone for the series by thumping the first ball for four, and went on to make an important 50

Harry Brook looked good for 32 before being bowled by Nathan Lyon in bizarre fashion

England were in trouble at 176-5 when Ben Stokes was dismissed by Josh Hazlewood for one

This was the clash of styles expected, with England refusing to take a back step, as they promised they would, and the newly crowned world champions producing more of an orthodox approach through their top-quality seamers and the impressive off-spin of Lyon.

It was a role reversal, too, with England the aggressors and Australia resembling many an inhibited English team of Ashes past in immediately going on the defensive.

From the very first ball faced by Ben Duckett Cummins had posted a deep point or, more accurately, Steve Smith had made the field placing because the former captain looked much more in charge all day than the current one.

Australia all too often followed the ball and were uncharacteristically meek in their approach. ‘They look as though they’ve been spooked by England,’ said Mike Atherton on Sky and clearly England’s new approach had got into Australian heads.

That was reflected in some sloppy Australian fielding, Travis Head dropping Brook on 24, Carey dropping Bairstow on 68 and no-one appealing when Crawley was found to have edged Scott Boland through to Carey. That’s the trouble with Australians. They are too nice.

With that in mind Australia will be relieved to still be in the game, the often under-rated Lyon finishing up with four wickets and England helping the old enemy by gifting them at least three wickets.

There is no such thing as a bad shot, said Stokes last week, but there is no other way to describe the wild slogs from the returning Moeen Ali, who at least smashed Cummins for four and six in the same over, and the Nighthawk himself in Stuart Broad.

Nathan Lyon was expensive and was given a torrid time from the Hollies’ stand, but took four important wickets

David Warner made it to sumps unbeaten despite facing his old nemesis Stuart Broad

Brook, meanwhile, was unlucky when a ball from Lyon hit him on the thigh pad and looped over his shoulder before spinning back onto the stumps but he was dozy, too, in. not reacting to the possibility of danger and showing no self-preservation instinct.

Then again England do not really do self-preservation, as was again demonstrated when Stokes called them in when almost every other side in 146 years of Test cricket would have batted on to at least reach the score of 400 that was probably par on a flat pitch.

Not this England side. Of course they wouldn’t do what was expected of them. Instead they kept all 25,000 spectators on the edges of their seats when Stokes threw the ball to Broad and let him have first go at the man he had in his pocket in 2019 in Warner.

Warner was like a cat on a hot tin roof in that first over but both he and Usman Khawaja battled it out to finish on 14 without loss. What a day. What incredible Test cricket. And to think there is still potentially another 24 days of this to come.

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