England's first Test of this year's Ashes series ended in a two-wicket defeat at the hands of holders Australia at Edgbaston; we run the rule over how Ben Stokes' team performed as individuals in the opening match of the five-Test series
Wednesday 21 June 2023 08:52, UK
Take a look at how we rated England's players out of 10 for their performances in the two-wicket defeat to Australia at Edgbaston...
Zak Crawley - 7 (out of 10)
The opener set the tone for England's approach with the very first ball of the match, rattling Australia captain Pat Cummins through the covers for four with a crisp drive.
Crawley subsequently went on to deliver a stiff rebuke to the critics questioning his place in the team with 61, but only managed seven in the second innings after edging to wicketkeeper Alex Carey.
Ben Duckett - 6
Duckett came into the first match of the Ashes on the back of a blistering 182 from 178 balls in the one-off Test against Ireland but failed to make the same impact with the bat against Australia.
A quickfire 12 from 10 balls in England's first innings was followed by a more ponderous 19 from 46 deliveries in the second.
Ollie Pope - 6
Pope has firmly established himself as England's No 3 in the batting order but failed to capitalise on promising starts in both innings against Australia.
The right-hander made 31 in the first innings before being trapped lbw by Nathan Lyon and then fell following a brisk 14 from 16 balls in the second when he was bowled by Cummins.
Joe Root - 8
The 32-year-old is already assured of his place in history as one of England's all-time greats and showed how he continues to be a key component of the batting line-up in the first Test.
Root scored his 30th Test century with a superb unbeaten 118 in the first innings and followed that up with a crucial 46 in the second,
Harry Brook - 7
Brook was looking well set in England's first innings before becoming the unfortunate victim of a bizarre dismissal at the hands of Nathan Lyon, departing for 32.
He will have been disappointed not to get to at least the half-century mark in the second innings as well, but his 46 off 52 balls proved a more than useful contribution.
Ben Stokes - 7
The England captain laid down a marker for how he intends to approach this series when he declared his side's first innings on 393-8 and showed his inventiveness in the field to try to manufacture wickets in conditions which offered little for the bowlers.
Ultimately though, England still ended up losing by two wickets and faced questions about their approach. As for his game, Stokes made just one in the first innings with the bat but came up with 43 in the second. He continues to be limited in how much he can bowl, but picked up two wickets.
Jonny Bairstow - 7
A run-a-ball 78 in his first Test innings since August last year - he did not bat in either innings against Ireland at Lord's - after a long spell out injured showed just how big a part of England's batting line-up Bairstow is.
He contributed just 20 in the second at Edgbaston, but the only questions around him were over whether he is the long-term answer as wicketkeeper as well after dropped catches and missed stumping opportunity.
Moeen Ali - 6
Birmingham boy Moeen had plenty of backing at Edgbaston as he made his first Test appearance since September 2021, but did not quite have the impact he would have wanted.
A finger injury hampered the spinner when it came to bowling, although he did still take three wickets in the match, while he could only muster scores of 18 and 19 with the bat.
Stuart Broad - 8
Broad and his fellow seamers received little assistance from the pitch at Edgbaston, but he bowled superbly for the most part and showed his importance to the team.
The right-armer took 3-68 in Australia's first innings to ensure England held a lead, albeit a slender one, and finished with 3-64 in the second as he tried all he could to get the hosts over the line.
Ollie Robinson - 7
Robinson bowled economically on a difficult surface, going for under 2.5 runs per over in both of Australia's innings, and worked hard for his wickets.
The right-arm seamer took 3-55 in the first innings, including being the player who dislodged Australia centurion Usman Khawaja, and finished with 2-43 from the second.
James Anderson - 6
Anderson was back in action after missing the one-off Test against Ireland to complete his recovery from an injury which kept him out of that win at Lord's, although was not quite at his best.
While bowling economically, England's record Test wicket-taker only managed one in the first innings and then went wicketless in the second as Australia triumphed.
The men's Ashes resumes at Lord's on Wednesday June 28 with the second of five Tests. Build-up begins on Sky Sports Cricket at 10am ahead of the first ball at 11am.
