Australia's Josh Hazlewood marked his entry into this season's Ashes with three wickets as England were dismissed for 258 after the second Test at Lord's finally got underway on Thursday.
World Cup-winning England fast bowler Jofra Archer then marked his Test debut with an electrifying opening spell. But the only wicket Australia lost before stumps was when David Warner (three) was bowled by paceman Stuart Broad - the third time in as many innings this series he had dismissed the left-hander.
At the close, Ashes-holders Australia were 30-1 - a deficit of 228 runs. Cameron Bancroft was five not out and Usman Khawaja 18 not out.
England suffered an all-too-familiar collapse as they slumped to 138-6 before a seventh-wicket stand of 72 between Jonny Bairstow and Chris Woakes repaired some of the damage. Only opener Rory Burns (53) and wicketkeeper Bairstow, last man out for 52, passed fifty in the innings.
Hazlewood, the lone change to the Australia side that won the first Test by 251 runs at Edgbaston last week, took three wickets for 58 runs from 22 overs.
'Pretty happy'
New-ball partner Pat Cummins took 3-61 from 21 while off-spinner Nathan Lyon equalled Australia pace great Dennis Lillee's tally of 355 Test wickets with a return of 3-68.
"I don't think we have had our best day, we dropped a few catches but if we are batting at the end of the day we are pretty happy," Lyon told Sky Sports. As for equalling Lillee's number of Test wickets, Lyon added: "I am not one for personal milestones but it is a pleasing thing, it is pretty hard to see my name alongside one of the true legends of Australian cricket."
Australia captain Tim Paine decided to field first on winning the toss after Wednesday's first-day washout. Hazlewood backed him up when, with just the ninth ball of the day, his third, he had Jason Roy caught behind by wicketkeeper Paine after the batsman fended loosely at a rising ball outside off stump.
Hazlewood then had England captain Joe Root LBW for 14 to a ball that nipped back. Burns, fresh from his maiden Test century at Edgbaston, was dropped on 16 when Khawaja failed to hold a routine gully chance off Peter Siddle.
Brilliant Bancroft
Wickets tumbled early in the second session, with England losing four for 46. Joe Denly (30), shaken up by a couple of short balls from Cummins, was caught behind off Hazlewood. But Paine then dropped a low left-handed chance off Siddle to give Burns, now on 47, another reprieve. Burns completed an admirable 119-ball fifty including seven fours but was out when Bancroft held a brilliant diving left-handed catch at short leg off Cummins.
"There was some good bowling, a bit of nibble and we have seen in that period if you stick enough balls in the right areas it can be difficult," said Burns.
England were 138-6 when Ben Stokes (13) was LBW on the sweep to Lyon. Woakes was out for 32 shortly after being hit on the head by a Cummins bouncer, with the crowd jeering Australia's repeated use of the short ball. Bairstow completed an 82-ball fifty that came after he had managed just 30 runs in his six previous Test innings before he holed out off Lyon.
Archer, replacing the injured James Anderson, England's record wicket-taker, took the new ball with Broad on the ground where he bowled the Super Over that had secured a World Cup final win over New Zealand last month. His second ball cut sharply back up the Lord's slope and just missed Bancroft's off-stump and he beat the bat repeatedly in a thrilling six-over spell.
Thursday saw Lord's turn red in support of the Ruth Strauss Foundation - a lung cancer charity set up to honour the late wife of Andrew Strauss, the former England captain, who died from the disease.
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Glyn Kirk
