INEVITABLE AFTER ALL THE HYPE

Australia went 1-0 up to kick start the Ashes and it couldn't have been any better finish than Cameroon Bancroft dirlling another drive through mid on off Chris Woakes for four. England put on 302 on an unusual slow Gabba wicket after Joe Root had won the toss. After Cook's early dismissal, Stoneman and James Vince were involved in a scintillating partnership which put England right in front before a couple of mini collapses had them crawling for 300. Vince truly lived up to the praise he received for his technique which was supposed to suit the fast and bouncy pitches in Australia. To watch a player with such a backfoot dominant technique play so many drives was truly a treat to watch. Australians were in all sorts at 80-4 but Steven 'The Alien' Smith played another mind boggling innings, probably his best, of unbeaten 141. He stood firm amidst the carnage at the other end without playing a single cover drive untill his 100th run somewhat emulating Tendulkar's masterclass at Sydney. That was an adjustment made in response to the nature of the pitch which was much slower than the usual Gabba deck and playing on the up was not the easiest thing to do. A lead of 26 proved more than vital as Josh Hazlewood ran through the English top order in the dying minutes of 3rd evening. After a fighting half century, Joe Root was trapped in front. It was almost a sense of deja vu of Mitchell Johnson's thunderbolts when Mitchell Starc produced a fiesty spell of short pitch bowling directed at the body of the tail enders. Needless to say, the innings ended rather quickly. A target of 170 was not supposed to be as easy as it turned out to be looking at the history of the 'Fortress Gabba'. It was a fitting end to the debut match for Cameron Bancroft as he and David Warner hammered the English Bowling to a 10 wicket bashing thanks to some niggles to Moeen Ali and Jimmy Anderson.
    As expected, Australia looked the better side on the park. For some periods during the match, it felt that they lacked the services of 5th bowler when all 3 quicks were grinding it out. Lyon looked the best bowler on the park for the best part of five days. Inability of English batsmen of converting 50s into big ones will haunt them big time as they move to Adelaide for the Day-Night test where I think they will have their best chance under lights.