Australia’s bowling attack outside of Mitchell Starc has been labelled “second division” after Joe Root scored a maiden Test century in Australia to guide England from a precarious 5-2 to 325-9 at stumps after a pulsating first day of the second Ashes Test in Brisbane on Thursday.
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Mitchell Starc became the most successful left-arm fast bowler in history as he claimed 6-71, but the opening sessions of the day-night contest were dominated by Root, who scored a masterful 135 not out.
Number 11 Jofra Archer thrilled the travelling army of fans as he smashed a career-best unbeaten 32 off 26 balls with two sixes to provide some late fireworks.
His unbroken 10th-wicket partnership of 61 with Root was a record for England at the Gabba.
Starc’s six wickets moved him to 418 in Tests, surpassing Pakistan great Wasim Akram’s 414 as the most prolific left-arm paceman in Test history.
Starc again was the destroyer at the top of the order, removing Ben Duckett in his first over and Ollie Pope in his second to reduce a shell-shocked England to 5-2.
But unlike in the first Test defeat in Perth, England showed some grit with the partnership between Root and Crawley moving the score onto 122.
It prompted veteran BBC commentator Jonathan Agnew to declare Australia’s bowling attack their “worst since 2010-11” and “really second division” if you exclude Starc.
“Mitchell Starc is brilliant, a world-class bowler. The rest of it is really second division and it looked it. It’s not what they are used to doing,” Agnew said.
“You could say that was the case for Perth as well.
“We know Australia are vulnerable, their batting and bowling is vulnerable and that’s what was frustrating about Perth.”
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Of course, Australia is without two of their top bowling weapons in Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.
Cummins had been rumoured to be making an early return from a back injury, but instead the hosts sprung a major surprise by leaving out off-spinner Nathan Lyon for seamer Michael Neser.
It was the first time in almost 14 years that Australia played a Test at home without a frontline spinner.
“I was amazed they left out Nathan Lyon today,” former England captain Michael Atherton said on Sky Sports Cricket’s ‘Ashes Daily’ Podcast.
“He’s got 562 (Test) wickets, and it’s a pitch that everybody said looked much drier and less green than it had yesterday.
“It’s a pitch where England thought, ‘well, we need a spinner’, and yet Australia are leaving Lyon out.
“I thought there were times when it looked just an okay Australian attack plus Mitchell Starc.”
