Australia put themselves in a strong position on the first day of the alternate Ashes Test at Lord’s, with Steve Smith scoring an unbeaten 85 to help them reach 339 for 5 at wholes.

Smith was in sublime form, hitting 10 fours in his 149- ball knock. He was supported by David Warner( 66) and Travis Head( 77), who both scored half- centuries.

England’s bowlers plodded to make an impact, with Stuart Broad and James Anderson the pick of the attack with two lattices each.

Australia will be looking to make on their lead on day two and put England under pressure.

Then are some of the crucial highlights from the day

• Steve Smith reached 15,000 transnational runs in the 19th over of the day. He’s the 41st batsman to achieve the feat, and only Virat Kohli has a better normal(49.67) among those who have scored 15,000 runs.
• David Warner and Travis Head both scored half- centuries. Warner’s knock was his 24th in Test justice, while Head’s was his 10th.
• England’s bowlers plodded to make an impact. Stuart Broad and James Anderson were the pick of the attack with two lattices each, but the rest of the bowlers were precious.
  
• Australia will be looking to make on their lead on day two and put England under pressure.
• The match is unevenly poised at the end of day one, with Australia in a slight advantage. still, England have a strong fur line- up and they will be looking to make a comeback on day two. The match is sure to be an instigative one, and it’ll be intriguing to see who comes out on top.

Then are some of the intriguing stats from the match

• Australia have won 10 of their last 11 Test matches at Lord’s.
  
• Steve Smith has now scored 10 centuries and 21 half- centuries in Test justice against England.
  
• David Warner has now scored 24 half- centuries in Test justice, the most by any Australian batsman.
  
• James Anderson has now taken 658 Test lattices, the most by any English bowler.
  
• Stuart Broad has now taken 546 Test lattices, the most by any English bowler in down Tests.
  
• The match will continue hereafter, with play starting at 11 am original time. You can watch the match live on BBC One in the UK and on Fox Cricket in Australia.

Sure, then is further about the match

Australia started the day on 133 for 2, with David Warner and Travis Head both well set. Warner continued his good form, reaching his half- century in the 27th over. Head was more wary, but he also reached his half- century in the 39th over.

The cooperation between Warner and Head was broken in the 44th over, when Head was caught by Joe Root off the bowling of Stuart Broad. Warner was joined by Marnus Labuschagne, and the two batsmen put on a 50- run cooperation before Labuschagne was sailed by James Anderson in the 65th over.

Steve Smith came to the crinkle at 233 for 4, and he incontinently looked in good touch. He scored his half- century in the 74th over, and he was joined by Alex Carey, who made a case 11 not out.

Smith and Carey maundered through the rest of the day, and they will be looking to continue their good form on day two.

England’s bowlers plodded to make an impact on day one. Stuart Broad and James Anderson were the pick of the attack, but they were both precious. The rest of the bowlers were unfit to produce any chances, and they were penalized by the Australian batsmen.

Australia will be looking to make on their lead on day two and put England under pressure. They’ve a strong fur line- up, and they will be confident of scoring a big aggregate. England will need to ameliorate their bowling if they want to stay in the match.

The match is unevenly poised at the end of day one, but Australia have the slight advantage. They’ve a good lead, and they’ve two of their stylish batsmen in Steve Smith and Alex Carey at the crinkle. England will need to drift well and take early lattices if they want to win the match.

The match will continue hereafter, with play starting at 11 am original time. You can watch the match live on BBC One in the UK and on Fox Cricket in Australia.