Opening salvos before a huge MCG crowd are often among the most memorable meetings between Australia and England – here are five crackers
In the first session Australia set off at a lick, surging to 102 without loss with David Warner’s 83 the crux. Warner would go on to notch his 21st Test century, but not without a spot of drama when one run shy. Pity poor Tom Curran, who thought he had claimed Warner on 99 after the batter had spooned to mid-on and the eager hands of Stuart Broad. However, a replay revealed the England bowler had overstepped and his maiden Test wicket was snatched from his grasp.
That moment of torment typified England’s sorry Ashes campaign, though this fourth Test would end in a draw thanks to Alastair Cook’s stalwart 244. On day one, Warner’s relief was short-lived as three runs later he was caught behind off Jimmy Anderson. In the 26 overs of the afternoon session, Australia scored 43 for two, but by stumps they were sitting pretty on 244 for three, with an unruffled Steve Smith unbeaten on 65.
Even by the MCG’s inflated standards, a bumper crowd of 91,092 turned up on the first morning to witness a taut opener where the protagonists stood toe to toe and hoped the other would blink first. Holding his ground for five minutes more than four hours stood Kevin Pietersen, unbeaten on 67, as England reached 226 for six. The rest of the tourists’ top six – bar Ben Stokes, snared by Mitchell Johnson’s third delivery with the second new ball – batted for an hour or more.
