ENG vs AUS Highlights, 4th Ashes Test: Broad picks 600th Test wicket, Woakes shines

Highlights: Stuart Broad registered 600 Test wickets during the first day of the fourth Ashes Test against Australia at the Old Trafford in Manchester to become only the second pacer to reach the milestone after compatriot James Anderson.. Broad achieved the feat in his 166th Test with the wicket of Travis Head in the 50th over of the first innings.

Carey goes as Woakes strikes by inducing an inside edge. The new ball has done the trick and it’s again Woakes who has removed the batsman.

Starc keeps Australia in the hunt with his 19-ball 56 along with Carey as the partnership has kept England at bat. Starc keeps Australia in the hunt with his 19-ball 56 along with Carey as the partnership has kept England at bat. The new ball is available now.

The spell and the rhythm of Moeen Ali goes on but both Carey and Starc have got used to the conditions.

Alex Carey and Mitchell Starc have put on a fight with a fine partnership. Anderson did try to reverse the ball but couldn’t crack through.

Mitchell Starc and Alex Carey are in good mood to bat long. England has to find a way to break the partnership.

Mark Wood finishes a brilliant spell (14-2-60-1) but the day has been all about Stuart Broad who picked his 600th Test wicket bowling from the James Anderson end. What a player!

A brilliant moment in the game as Bairstow steals a fantastic catch to pack off Mitchell Marsh by diving to his right and that’s a wonderful take.

Long strides and getting the wrists into play, Marsh has played some delicious shots, including a pull that got the 250-up for Australia. A leg glance got the middle-order batsman a half-century and it has been a knock of some substance.

The fifty-run partnership is up between the all-rounders in 60 balls and Ben Duckett this time misses a run-out opportunity.

Stokes at covers fumbles a run-out opportunity and allows Marsh a chance, that went begging. Green is trying his best to keep the momentum going but England is fighting back

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Stuart Broad with his combinations of out and in-swingers has challenged the Australian batsmen. But, the partnership has been worth 43 off 43 balls. Marsh has taken on the attack as Australia moves close to the 250-run mark

Green and Marsh have managed to resist the attack with Moeen Ali purchasing turn and assistance from the pitch.

Marsh launches Moeen Ali over the long-on for a maximum but it has been a cautious approach after Broad picked his 600th Test wicket. The 200 is up for Australia.

Stuart Broad bags his 600-th Test wicket and joins Jimmy Anderson in a very special club. Bounces out Travis Head to get his 600! Take a bow!

The fall of Smith did hurt Australia but Moeen Ali dismissing Labuschagne was the highlight of the session.

Marnus Labuschagne gifts his wicket away and this is something that the middle-order batsman has been struggling. Another review that got England a crucial breakthrough and it’s the spin of Moeen Ali. A straight delivery that Labuschagne missed and it’s again Ali who provides the breakthrough.

Chris Woakes is back into the attack and Moeen Ali did produce an opportunity to make a breakthrough. England continues to attack by trying to bounce out Head but at the other end, Labuschagne cuts Woakes for a boundary and has got his feet moving and reached his half-century before Head unleashed a brilliant shot to near his fifty.

Labuschagne and Head are in complete control of the game and have punished the bowlers who have erred in line and length. There is a hint of swing but Labuschagne has countered the swing with his defence and a glorious cover drive.

Head rolls on with a backfoot shot and then executes a lovely cover dive to pocket back to back boundaries after 36 deliveries. Head then drove Anderson down the ground, a shot that got the veteran bowler literally shocked!

Anderson gets going in search for his maiden wicket in this match after bowling four maidens. With 688 Test wickets, Anderson has literally guided England to be disciplined. And since Lunch, 15 overs have been bowled and Australia scored only 41 runs.

England and Mark Wood have slightly changed the dimension in the afternoon session but Labuschagne has batted well in to keep Australia in the hunt. Anderson bowled a beauty and almost induced an outside edge but Marnus fights on.

Anderson is back into the attack but both Head and Labuschagne have kept Australia in play and a rare no-ball from Anderson gets the crowd pumping. The run-rate has been consistent, with Australia going at 4.03 rpo and the partnership slowly but steadily building up.

Head motors on and uses his wrists to perfection to guide Wood behind the backward square region for a boundary and the pick of the shot was Head’s ability to ride on the pace. Stokes positions himself at the short leg but Head continues to ride on the bounce and keep the scorecard ticking with another boundary.

Wood is breathing fire and Head coped a nasty bouncer as a back of length delivery hit the batsman on his grill. The concussion test is done and Head is ready to take a few more blows after changing his head gear. Wood seems to be on a mission as he delivers a fantastic yorker and since Lunch England has been disciplined with their line of attack.

Huge wicket as Wood traps Smith and that’s the reward for maintaining a tight line. Smith makes a rare error of judgment as he shuffles across the line but only to miss the ball. What a brilliant review from England! Travis Head is in and Jonny Bairstow has his eyes on him with Wood steaming in really fast.

Australia hasn’t lost a Test match since 1981 in Manchester and both Smith and Labuschagne seem to have got a gauge of the pitch and keeping the record intact. However, Wood and Woakes are eyeing for wickets with Wood purchasing a little movement from the pitch. An intense battle is on with Wood charging in with a 149kph bouncer that Marnus ducked.

Mark Wood tries to extract swing but it is not a surface where the ball would move around largely. England is using the tricks but Smith and Labuschagne are right up for the task.

Right then we are up for a massive session. Wickets will be the key for England and for Australia, it’s Smith and Labuschagne who will look to carry forward the momentum.

The 100 is up for Australia and the strike rotation has been good from Australia. Smith and Labuschagne have bossed with their aggressive approach by adding a valuable partnership after the early loss of Warner and Khawaja. On a good batting surface, both Smith and Labuschagne have looked good and have forged a 46-run stand in 65 deliveries and the run-rate of 4.28 gives the visitors and advantage. Will be back in 45 for the second session.

First signs of spin and Smith smacked Moeen Ali for a maximum, and then a drive down the ground to make his intentions clear that he is not going to allow the spinner to settle down.

Anderson has been a little unlucky but so far, the Australian batsmen have been positive and aggressive in their approach, not fearing to play their shots. The singles are coming easily and with a long batting line-up, the visitors are well poised despite losing the toss. The leg stump ploy continues to test Smith but the master batsman is unmoved.

The pair of Anderson and Broad are back in the attack but there is no short-leg fielder although there is a leg slip in place. Smith gets his bottom hand into play to pick a boundary. Labuschagne shows his class by flicking Broad down the leg side coupled with a great defensive technique.

Smith was almost gone and the opening session has produced some excellent cricket. The lines of Mark Wood have been excellent but Labuschagne has countered with some brilliant defence and playing the ball with a full face of the bat. The square cuts have been deprived but Smith at the other end, this will be an interesting context.

Labuschagne enforced an early drinks break sighting issues in facing the bowlers with the sun coming out. A nice positive approach by Australia and the pitch looks to aid the batsmen. And guess what! Stuart Broad helped the umpires moving the crowd aside from the sight screen which put Labuschagne off guard. It was some moment! And then Wood produced a beauty that almost packed back Labuschagne, with a nick that went flying between gully and third slip. But Woakes breathes fire by removing Warner, who once again failed to convert a start and chased a delivery that got an outside edge and straight to the gloves of Bairstow.

Warner consolidates the opening hour of play and brings up the fifty for Australia along with Labuschagne has ensured Australia gets off to a decent start. Wood and Woakes have been trying to unsettle the pair but the last 10 overs have fetched Australia 41 runs despite losing a wicket.

Warner and Labuschagne continue to motor on and this innings will be important for Warner, who has walked out with determination. Although playing against the swing will test his character, a boundary through the square of the wicket will only bolster his confidence with approximately 9,000 spectators watching the game.

Chris Woakes into the attack and he replaces Chris Broad. Warner has shown signs of positive intent and hasn’t been disturbed by the ball of Khawaja, although the oddball kicking in to trouble the batsman with the southpaw almost shopping one onto his stumps.

Labuschagne is off the mark with a single as Broad continues to attack and enforce another breakthrough. The veteran is sticking to the fuller length and got one to come back in as Labuschagne shouldered his arms. Brilliant seam position. Top bowling with Anderson eyeing a scalp and Broad his 600th.

Broad strikes and picks his 599th Test wicket by trapping Usman Khawaja. The batsman did go for a review but there was nothing in contact with the bat and ball. Full and straight and Khawaja played all over it.

Anderson starts with a maiden and Broad bowls in tandem, in an attempt to remove Warner. A sound start from Australia but England will look to make inroads.

Stuart Broad starts the proceedings with both David Warner and Usman Khawaja off the mark. Warner starts off in an aggressive way by smashing the fast bowler to the boundary.

From Leeds to Manchester and after a nine-day break, both teams will look to take the upper hand with a sell-out crowd in front of them.

“We would’ve bowled first too but not a bad toss to lose, looks like a good wicket. The game is played at quite a quick pace here. We’ve got two all-rounders and Travis Head, gives us lot of options. There’s always a bit of risk, we’ve gone for a slightly different lineup than usual. We absolutely want to win this, we want to win the series and the guys are here to win this. We all had a great break, some of the guys went to different places in Europe.”

“We’re going to bowl. (On being told that no team has won after electing to bowl first at Old Trafford) Will be a nice time for us to do that. The clarity helps, we had the same mindset in the last game. Spoke about the weather quite a bit last week but doesn’t look too bad today. We’ll have to adapt. If the game gets to a point where we need to push things on we’ll be able to do that, that’s how we play naturally. Anderson has been an unbelievable performer. He offers a lot in terms of control, no issues whatsoever with him. Moeen can have an impact on the game batting at three. He’s more than capable of playing there, takes nothing away from Brook.”

Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Harry Brook, Joe Root, Ben Stokes(c), Jonny Bairstow(w), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Stuart Broad, James Anderson

David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Cameron Green, Alex Carey(w), Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood

England wins toss, opts to bowl first

David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey(w), Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Todd Murphy, Scott Boland, Josh Hazlewood, Marcus Harris, Michael Neser, Josh Inglis, Cameron Green

Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Harry Brook, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow(w), Ben Stokes(c), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Ollie Robinson, Daniel Lawrence, Josh Tongue