Ashes 2015 5th Test Day 1 match report: Australia draw first blood after Warner, Smith half centuries

Half centuries from David Warner (85) and Steven Smith (78*) handed Australia the spoils of Day 1 of the fifth Ashes Test at the Oval. After being put in to bat by England, Australia reached 287-3 before bad light brought an end to the day’s proceedings.

After all the thrills and blink-and-you-miss action from the last couple of first days of Test matches in this Ashes series, this one was a relative snorefest. At Edgbaston and, especially, Trent Bridge, wickets fell like nine pins at a whirlwind frequency. Australia were bowled out for 136 on the first occasion and for just 60 in the second, an innings that lasted for just about 90 minutes and 18.3 overs.

Today, in similar conditions to that remarkable first day at Trent Bridge, Australia did not lose a single wicket in the first session. With a greenish pitch, ample cloud cover and overnight rain preceding the start of play, Alastair Cook gladly put Australia in to bat again. Last year, he offered the same to India and his bowlers skittled them out for 148. The crowd would have expected a similar rollover. 

However, Warner and his retiring opening partner, Chris Rogers, patiently and at times streakily negotiated he seaming conditions in the first hour of play. It was attritional batting on display, much unlike the modern Twenty20-influenced version you get to see usually in the current era, especially from Warner. 

Stuart Broad and Mark Wood, who shared the new ball, got plenty of movement in the first hour, but the Australian openers seemed determined to avoid a repeat. The two left-handers by no means looked comfortable, but were leaving a lot many more deliveries than they had done earlier in this series.

It took 88 balls before Australia had their first boundary of the innings. At the first drinks break, Australia were at 19 without loss from 14 overs. At Trent Bridge, they were at 38-7. 

As we moved into the second hour of play, the cloud cover drifted away and the sun gleamed through. The pitch also looked slow and perfect for batting. The relative patience of the two openers seemed to have paid off. By lunch, Cook had used all five of his bowlers, including part-timer Moeen Ali. At Trent Bridge, he had needed just three.

After compiling their third century partnership of the series, Rogers departed after lunch for 43. Warner carried on along with Smith and looked set to score his first ton of the series, before edging Moeen Ali to first slip for 85.

This brought Michael Clarke out in the middle, who was greeted by a standing ovation and a guard of honour from the Englishmen. The retiring out-of-form Australia captain would need 222 runs in this match to end his career with an average of 50. Unfortunately, he could knock off just 15 of those before a booming bouncer from Ben Stokes induced a faint edge.

At this point, Australia were 186-3. Two quick wickets and the returning cloud cover had the Englishmen back in their spirits. Smith, whose last four Test innings scores read 7, 8, 6, 5, was under pressure. As was Voges, whose fifty in the second innings at Trent Bridge had probably saved his spot in the side. 

However, the duo kept their calm and grafted another hundred partnership by the end of the day. Smith reached his 13th Test half-century and his 3000th Test run on his way to a confident unbeaten 78.

The 26-year-old started slowly, taking 69 deliveries to make his first 30 runs. He looked streaky during that period, but once he got a couple of boundaries under his belt, his fluency started improving. Towards the end of the day, he was looking more and more like the guy who had scored a magnificent double century at Lord’s.

Voges also played well for his unbeaten 47, but has the task of carrying this partnership forward on Friday. Australia are in a very good position as things stand, but a few quick wickets in the morning on Day 2 could swing things back the hosts’ way.

England would be disappointed with the way things transpired after winning the toss. For majority of the day, the conditions were very good for bowling, but the English seamers did not show the same accuracy and consistency as the last couple of games. They erred by bowling too short at times, especially Broad, the nation’s hero at Trent Bridge.