England vs Australia 5th Ashes Test: England post 283 runs on the board in their first innings

England vs Australia

Some good contributions by the lower order have saved the English team from a humiliating first innings score in this must-win Ashes test match for them. They have posted 283 runs on the board in the first innings of the match at the Oval in Southampton.

Also Read: The Ashes 2023: Australia wins the toss and chooses to bowl first

The day began with Pat Cummins finally winning the toss in this test series. He did not hesitate even once while inviting England to bat in this match. England were unchanged, whereas Australia brought in Todd Murphy for Cameron Green.

The opening partnership was looking good for England as both openers batted explosively, but the 62-run stand was broken as Duckett fell to Mitchell Marsh attempting a false shot. His wicket started a mini-collapse as two more wickets fell in quick succession before lunch. The score was 73-3 when Moeen Ali and Harry Brook started building the innings again.


They made a 111-run stand, but Moeen Ali fell to fellow off-spinner Todd Murphy after getting set. After this wicket, the English innings almost folded like a pack of cards as wickets fell at regular intervals. At 212/7, Mark Wood and Chris Woakes entertained the fans a bit but could not stay much longer as Wood got out when the team’s score was 261.

Woakes hit a few big hits after that, but the inning eventually ended at 283. Harry Brook was the star of the inning, scoring 85 runs at a strike rate of 93. Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, and Moeen Ali all got starts but could not convert them into big ones.

Chris Woakes made 36 crucial runs, along with Mark Wood, who scored 28 runs. With these contributions, England has something to play with in the second inning of a must-win game. Mitchell Starc was the pick of the bowlers, taking four wickets. All the other Australian bowlers took at least one wicket.

The Aussie batters will have to bat carefully in the first hour, and then this pitch will become easier for batting. The battle between a steaming Stuart Broad and a resolute David Warner awaits in the second innings of the fifth Ashes test match.