Thursday 9 July 2015 07:47, UK
The view from Down Under as the Australian press digests Joe Root's ton and that Brad Haddin drop on day one of The Ashes.
DAILY TELEGRAPH
England reduced Mitchell Johnson from Ashes demi-god to mere mortal on an enthralling day one of the first Test.
A lifeless pitch deliberately designed to blunt Johnson and company out of the contest combined with a fabulous century from superstar Englishman Joe Root put Australia on the back foot to start their bid of ending 14 years of misery on UK soil.
However, the bottom line was Australia’s much-vaunted pace attack didn’t quite live up to expectations.
HERALD SUN
Questionable captaincy, wayward bowling and one horror drop combined to see Australia hand England the initiative on day one of the first Test.
MORNING HERALD
Australia's first-pick paceman Mitchell Starc had a confounding day with the Dukes ball at SWALEC Stadium, bowling rocks one moment, and diamonds the next on the opening day of the Ashes series.
BRISBANE TIMES
Australia were made to rue a crucial dropped catch on the first day of the Ashes as Joe Root went on to score a superb hundred and there was a further blow on Wednesday when Mitchell Starc left the ground with a possible ankle injury after making a late double breakthrough.
FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA
When Brad Haddin dropped Joe Root off Mitchell Starc on the second ball he’d faced, someone in the media box joked, “Turning point of the series?” Nobody’s laughing now.
It seems incongruous that one muffed chance in the first session of a five-match series could still be creating ripples seven weeks later, but that’s Test cricket.
CRICKET.COM.AU
Brad Haddin has dropped easier catches, but few would sting as much as the reprieve offered to Joe Root on day one of the Ashes opener.
