Broad Left Out As England Win Toss, Bat In 1st Ashes Test

Brisbane, Australia, Dec 8 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th Dec, 2021 ) :England captain Joe Root won the toss and decided to bat in the first Ashes Test against Australia Thursday, as the visitors opted to leave out fast bowling veterans Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad.

England have not won at the Gabba ground in Brisbane since 1986 and go into the game missing Test cricket's most prolific paceman Anderson, who has been rested.

In another major shock, they also left out Broad.

After a late look at the wicket, and with showers forecast, they instead opted for a seam attack of Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, and Ollie Robinson, bolstered by all-rounder Ben Stokes and left-arm spinner Jack Leach.

"We're blessed with a very good seam attack and it was a very difficult decision to make," Root said of leaving out Broad.

"We're mentally ready," he added. "We've planned really well for this series and we will go out and enjoy this experience." It was big call to leave out Broad, who had a red-hot Ashes in England in 2019 where he dismissed Australian anchorman David Warner seven times.

His omission means the two greatest wicket-takers in England Test history, with 1,156 scalps between them, are watching from the stands.

Rory Burns opens the innings alongside Haseeb Hameed, who was preferred to Zak Crawley, with Dawan Malan at three and the world's number one batsmen Root at four.

All-rounder Stokes will come in at five in his first competitive cricket since July after a break to deal with a finger injury and mental health issues.

Ollie Pope makes his Australian debut at six after the experienced Jonny Bairstow was overlooked, with wicketkeeper Jos Buttler at seven before the tailenders.

Anderson said he was disappointed to not be playing.

"Gutted to be missing the first Test but it's a long series with a lot of cricket to be played," he said on Instagram.

"I'll be doing all I can to help from the sidelines this week." England are keen to manage the 39-year-old's workload for what will be a gruelling five-match series, with the second Test starting in Adelaide in just eight days' time.

That will be a pink-ball, day-night match with conditions expected to be more helpful to Anderson's swing bowling.

Australia head into the series as firm favourites after winning the corresponding series 4-0 four years ago then retaining the urn in England in 2019 after an enthralling 2-2 draw.

But they are short on red-ball practice and have a new captain in Cummins after Tim Paine sensationally quit a fortnight ago after a text-messaging scandal.

"We were probably going to have a bat, but I think it's 50-50 here," said Cummins after losing his first toss as skipper. "It's not going to have a big effect either way." Australia announced their team at the weekend, with Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc spearheading the attack alongside spinner Nathan Lyon, who is one-wicket shy of his 400th Test scalp.

The explosive Warner, who has smacked 18 Test centuries on home soil, opens with Marcus Harris ahead of Marnus Labuschagne at first drop, followed by Steve Smith who was dominant in the last Ashes campaign.

Travis Head beat out Usman Khawaja for the five slot and will be followed to the crease by Alex Carey, who takes the wicketkeeping gloves from Paine.

Australia: Marcus Harris, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (capt), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood England: Rory Burns, Haseeb Hameed, Dawid Malan, Joe Root(capt), Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler(w), Chris Woakes, Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood, Jack Leach Umpires: Paul Reiffel (AUS), Rod Tucker (AUS)tv umpire: Paul Wilson (AUS)Match referee: David Boon (AUS).