mobanmarketLONDON: Jos Buttler saved England’s blushes on Thursday, counter-attacking against Australia to lift his side to 271-8 after they collapsed on the opening day of the fifth Ashes Test.
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World Cup winners England, desperate to level the series at 2-2, have struggled to find consistency all series and contributed to their own downfall at the Oval, slipping from 170-3 to 226-8.
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But Buttler, who did not look comfortable early on, dipped into his white-ball playbook, smashing paceman Josh Hazlewood for successive sixes as Jack Leach dug in at the other end.
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Buttler ended the day 64 not out, while Leach was unbeaten on 10 but England will need to add runs on Friday on what looks like a good pitch for batting.
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Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh claimed four wickets on his return to the side. Pat Cummins and Hazlewood were again impressive for the tourists.
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Australia are seeking their first Ashes series win in England for 18 years.
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Australia captain Tim Paine won the toss and put the home side in under grey skies. Joe Root then enjoyed astonishing good fortune as England reached 170-3.
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The skipper was dropped three times but failed to make the most of his let offs, comprehensively bowled for 57 by Cummins shortly after tea.
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Root has reached fifty 61 times in Tests but has gone on to reach three figures on just 16 occasions.
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By contrast, Australia’s former captain Steve Smith, who has dominated the Ashes with his bat, has reached fifty 52 times and made 26 hundreds — a far better conversion rate.
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Root dropped
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Root was dropped on 24 by Peter Siddle on the boundary. Then wicketkeeper Paine failed to cling on to a one-handed chance in front of David Warner at first slip. Both drops were off Cummins.
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Shortly after lunch, with the ground now bathed in sunshine, the skipper had yet another reprieve when a diving Smith failed to hold on to a sharp chance at second slip off Siddle.
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Root drove Hazlewood square of the wicket to bring up 7,000 Test runs in his 158th innings — only three England players have reached the mark faster. But he eventually ran out of lives.
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Jonny Bairstow followed shortly afterwards, lbw to Mitchell Marsh for 22.
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Bairstow’s dismissal brought all-rounder Sam Curran to the wicket and he hooked Cummins for six.
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Curran had a let-off when he was given out lbw to Cummins only for a replay to show the Australian had overstepped but he was out shortly afterwards, caught by Smith at second slip off a reckless drive.
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Earlier, opener Rory Burns (47) and Ben Stokes (20) were guilty of throwing their wickets away with misjudged shots as England’s top order struggled again.
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Australia won at Old Trafford last week to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series, meaning they will retain the Ashes urn regardless of the result at the Oval.
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But Paine said his side were “very hungry” to complete the job and win their first Test series in England since 2001.
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Scorecard
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England 1st innings
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R. Burns c Marsh b Hazlewood 47
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J. Denley c Smith b Cummins 14
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J. Root b Cummins 57
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B. Stokes c Lyon b Marsh 20
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J. Bairstow lbw b Marsh 22
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J. Buttler not out 64
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S. Curran c Smith b Marsh 15
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C. Woakes lbw b Marsh 2
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J. Archer c Paine b Hazlewood 9
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J. Leach not out 10
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Extras (nb2, b3, lb6) 11
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Total (8 wkts, 82 overs) 271
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To bat: S. Broad
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Fall of wickets: 1-27 (Denley), 2-103 (Burns), 3-130 (Stokes), 4-170 (Root), 5-176 (Bairstow), 6-199 (Curran), 7-205 (Woakes), 8-226 (Archer)
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Bowling: Cummins 22.5-5-73-2 (1nb), Hazlewood 21-7-76-2, Siddle 17-1-61-0 (1nb), Marsh 16.1-4-35-4, Lyon 4-0-12-0, Labuschagne 1-0-5-0
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Toss: Australia
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Umpires: Marais Erasmus (RSA), Kumar Dharmasena (SRI)
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TV umpire: Ruchira Palliyaguruge (SRI)
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Match referee: Javagal Srinath (IND)
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