BIRMINGHAM: Australian bowlers particularly Lyon ripped through English batting line up and crushed them only at 146 runs and win the first Ashes Test Match with the huge margin of 251 runs at Birmingham.
The end for England was swift, ugly and emphatic: they were bundled out for 146 by 3.15pm. At the conclusion of a cacophonous Ashes Test, all the noise came from the Australia fans in the Hollies Stand: “Same old Aussies. Always winning,” they chanted. It was a numbing defeat for Joe Root’s team, who had been ahead for two days but after five were overwhelmed by 251 runs. They have nine days to recover before the teams meet at Lord’s.
For Australia, this was the best type of victory: from 122 for eight on the first day, from a first-innings deficit of 90, whereupon their class performers came to the fore. The inevitable man of the match, Steve Smith, was brilliant in both innings and on the final day Nathan Lyon exploited a dry, brown surface with the ruthless efficiency of the gnarled old pro. Four more wickets at Lord’s next week and Lyon overtakes Dennis Lillee as the third highest wicket-taker for Australia in Test cricket.
Cummins finished with four for 32 while Australia’s off-spinner, who missed a great chance of a hat-trick since it was a hobbling Jimmy Anderson who denied him, ended with figures of six for 49. The Lyon will sleep well tonight.