Mitchell Starc struck the first significant blow of the Ashes this morning when he dismissed Alastair Cook with the 16th ball of the series. The former England captain edged a good-length delivery from the Australia opening bowler to first slip, where Peter Handscomb took a comfortable catch falling to his right. The one scoring shot had been the two runs pushed through gully by Cook in Starc’s first over. It was not the start Joe Root would have hoped for after winning the toss, but the England captain then saw Mark Stoneman and James Vince bat responsibly to steady the ship. The two Ashes rookies, with only ten Tests between them, left whatever they could and attacked anything loose, especially the more aggressive Vince.

Source: The Times November 23, 2017 02:15 UTC