Birmingham [UK], June 16 : Top order might have lost their wickets early in the day but Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow scored briskly as England scripted a fiery fightback to help hosts declare their first innings at 393/8 runs after Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood dominated Three Lions on Day 1 in the ongoing first Test of Ashes here at Edgbaston on Friday.
At the time of stumps, Australia's score read 14/0trailing by 379 runs with David Warner (8) and Usman Khawaja (4) unbeaten at the crease.
Resuming their innings at 240/5, Bairstow and Root stiched a solid 100-run partnership and kept the score board ticking for England.
The right-handed Bairstow played a counter-attacking knock, however, his 78-run knock finally came to an end in the 61st over after being dismissed by Nathan Lyon.
England lost quick wicket of Moeen Ali failed to score big and went back to the pavellion 18 after reversing Test retirement to play in Ashes.
The Three Lions' innings went further into a slump after Stuart Broad (16) was sent back to the pavilion by Green.
Despite being in pressure, Root kept Australian bowlers on their toes while whacking the loose balls on offer. In the 76th over of the game, Root brought up his 30th Test century.
Surprisingly England declared their innings at the score of 393/8, with Root (118) and Ollie Robinson (17) unbeaten.
Australian openers David Warner and Usman Khawaja then came out to bat for visitors. At the time of stumps the Australian opener Warner and Khawaja just faced four over in their innings and were unbeaten at the crease.
Earlier, at the tea break, England's score read 240/5 as the duo of Root (66*) and Bairstow (33*) fought back after Australia delivered early blows in the session. In the second session, England scored 116 runs while losing two wickets.
Resuming the second session at 124/3, Joe Root and Harry Brook managed to gather runs to take their team's total beyond the 150-run mark. The duo kept on moving the scoreboard at a brisk pace.
Brook was the aggressor of the batting pair, smashing boundaries regularly. The batting pair of Root and Brook were decisive in their approach and made the Australian bowlers toil hard making merry of the excellent batting conditions on offer.
The hosts rotated the strike brilliantly, not allowing the Aussie bowlers to settle down while whacking the loose balls on offer.
Brook displayed great resilience and determination as he brought up a 50-run partnership with Root in the 36th over of the game.
Brook's aggressive stint at the crease was cut short as he was dismissed by Lyon for 32 in the 38th over of the match. England captain Ben Stokes then came out to bat but failed to leave a mark in their innings as he was removed by Hazlewood for one digit in the 39th over. Brook fell to a freak dismissal off Lyon, while Stokes was out chasing a wide one early in his innings off Hazlewood.
With five wickets of hosts in hand, Australian bowlers dominated the second session as they dismissed England's top order.
The right-handed batter Jonny Bairstow then came out to bat. Cummins then brought all-rounder Cameron Green into the attack, and first up he sent down a bouncer to Bairstow which the England batter ducked out of the way of.
England's run machine and former captain Root showed determination as he brought up his half-century in 74 balls.
The duo of Root and Bairstow fought back after Australia delivers early blows in the session to take their team's total at 240/5.
Earlier, England won the toss and opted to bat first. The hosts started their innings with a cracking four off the very first ball of the match in Pat Cummins' over. Zak Crawley hit a four off the first ball of the Ashes series against Australia at Edgbaston on Friday, giving an early indication of whether they will continue to their aggressive new style to test match cricket.
Crawley immediately got his groove, clipping the ball from Australia captain Pat Cummins to the boundary to great applause from the home crowd.
However, the other opening batter Ben Duckett lost his wicket to Josh Hazlewood in the fourth over of the match. The right-handed batter Ollie Pope then came out to bat. The duo of Pope and Crawley maintained a fine partnership. Nathan Lyon
Breaking a solid partnership, Nathan Lyon got the better of Ollie Pope in the 18th over of the match.
Duckett and Pope might have lost their wickets but Crawley scored briskly to stand tall in front of the Aussie attack as he kept stealing boundaries at regular intervals. After scoring a brisk 61 runs off 73 Crawley was dismissed on the stroke of lunch by Scott Boland. At the time of lunch, England's score read 124/3.
Brief score: England 393/8 d (Joe Root 118*, Jonny Bairstow 78*; Nathan Lyon 4-149) vs Australia 14/0 (David Warner 8*, Usman Khawaja 4*; Ollie Robinson 0-5).
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