Josh Inglis, who has replaced Usman Khawaja in the Australian playing XI, has made an absolutely stunning debut in the pink ball Test as he sent Ben Stokes out with a straight hit. The English captain has been surprised by his dismissal.
The Ashes began with Australia taking the lead over their rivals England in Perth and winning the match by 8 wickets after brilliant performances from Travis Head and Mitchell Starc.
After an early lead in the series he headed to Brisbane where he played with the pink ball. The Gabba marked Australia’s biggest win as well as defeat. The ground is hosting its first pink ball Test.
Ben Stokes dodged by a direct hit from Josh Inglis
Whereas England were controlling their innings and captain Ben Stokes was in control along with batsman Joe Root. While the left-handed batsman was already struggling to score runs on Mitchell Starc, he became even more confused when Josh Inglis produced an extraordinary reflex throw.
The wicketkeeper, who had no gloves, fielded the ball on the inner ring, it was sent back by Joe Root, the England captain, who kept his eyes on the ball, Stokes failed to bring it back in time and Inglis hit the stumps.
Inglis stunned everyone with his hit and the Australian team celebrated the wicket as it collapsed the English batting order.
Joe Root scored his first century on Australian soil
Despite his extensive record for England, the England legend had never scored a century on Australian soil. He is not only England’s highest Test scorer but also the second highest run scorer in the Test format.
He is behind only the great Sachin Tendulkar and has more centuries to his name than any other Test batsman except Tendulkar. However, he had never scored a century before with 900+ runs in Australia.
Joe Root batted till the end of the innings and made a half-century partnership with Jofra Archer for the last wicket. Root batted throughout the English innings and had scored 135 runs at the time of writing.
Mitchell Starc took another five-wicket haul; Overtook the Indian spinner
Mitchell Starc took another six wickets in the first innings of the Brisbane Test. This is his third five-wicket haul in three consecutive matches since the West Indies tour.
With the dismissal of Harry Brook, Starc has already reached the historic figure of 415 wickets, making him the leading wicket-taker among left-arm fast bowlers in red-ball cricket.
He has overtaken former Pakistan great Wasim Akram and now has 418 Test wickets with the wickets of Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carson Starc, surpassing the record of former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh.
He is now the 15th highest wicket taker in the Test format and is closing in on Shaun Pollock’s record in Test history. Pollock had 421 wickets to his name and with one innings remaining, Starc can increase his wicket tally ahead of the former Protea legend.
Also read: Mitchell Starc became the most successful left-arm Test fast bowler, surpassing Wasim Akram.
