England captain Joe Root won the toss, opted to bat and lost opener Rory Burns on the first delivery of the Ashes series, a late swinging yorker from Australia paceman Mitchell Starc. It set the tone for the opening two sessions on Wednesday, which were more like open season for Australia’s pace bowling pack. 

Pat Cummins took the last three wickets and finished with a five-wicket haul in his first innings as Australia captain. The England innings finished with ominous thunder and lightning starting to the west and south of The Gabba.