Day one at Trent Bridge

“I watched guys trying to defend”.

Cook became Starc’s third dismissal, trapped LBW for 43, to bring Jonny Bairstow to the crease alongside Joe Root and the pair went about their business terrorising the Australian bowling attack.

Root and nightwatchman Wood (two not out) took England safely through to the close and the hosts will look to extend their lead on Friday after a near-perfect opening day.

The hosts, 2-1 up in the series and without their leading bowler James Anderson, needed only 18.3 overs to run through the touring side who collapsed to their joint sixth-lowest Ashes total in just over 90 minutes.

Steven Smith, on six, edged the last ball of the first over to Root in the slips and David Warner (zero) nicked his second delivery from Mark Wood to wicketkeeper Jos Buttler, leaving the Australians in tatters at 10-3.

Initially cloudy conditions offered some assistance to the bowlers and doubtless prompted Alastair Cook’s decision to field first upon winning the toss.

Broad bowled well, maintaining an excellent line and length on his Nottinghamshire home ground.

Eight Australia batsmen were caught in the cordon – all off Broad’s bowling.

– The top scorer in Australia’s first-innings total of 60 was “extras” with 14, the first time that has happened in Ashes history.

Credit to Clarke for facing the cameras to explain his side’s abject surrender, the normal protocol is the captain does not speak until after the game, but really he had no choice for hiding away after such a performance would not have been acceptable from an Australian captain. It was the first duck of Rogers’s 46-innings career in Test cricket. Mark Wood, in for Anderson, needed just two balls to take his lone wicket of the innings.

Clarke’s desperate run of form continued when, driving loosely outside off stump against Broad, he was well caught by a leaping Cook at to leave Australia 29 for six.

Clarke, who last week insisted he would keep playing after this Ashes series, made only 10 runs in the lamentable innings, prompting Herald columnist Peter FitzSimons to call on him to quit.

Broad ended the innings when he had Nathan Lyon, Australia’s No. 11, caught in at slip by Stokes.

Australia left-armer Mitchell Starc took three wickets to leave England 96 for three.

Bairstow was closing in on his maiden test hundred when he clipped Hazlewood tamely to Rogers at square leg, ending a superb fourth-wicket stand of 173 from 206 balls.

Root completed a 128-ball century, his eighth in Test cricket and second of the series following his 134 in England’s 169-run win in the first Test in Cardiff, when he cut occasional medium-pacer Warner for his 17th four.