Ashes, 1st Test: England steady after early Cook loss in Brisbane

Brisbane, November 23: England made a steady start to the first Ashes Test against Australia despite losing Alastair Cook cheaply on day one on Thursday.

Cook (2) departed in the third over at the Gabba, edging Mitchell Starc (1-14) to Peter Handscomb at first slip.

Match Scorecard

But that would prove to be the hosts' only breakthrough in a largely uneventful first session in Brisbane, where England captain Joe Root won the toss and elected to bat.

James Vince (32) and Mark Stoneman (25) steadied the England innings, reaching 59-1 at lunch with an unbroken 57-run partnership.

Starc and Josh Hazlewood (0-24) bowled decent lines early but got little out of a flat and slow Gabba wicket, although the left-armer had one move slightly away from Cook to draw an edge.

BANG! #Ashes pic.twitter.com/Khc0yPsYLQ

— cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) November 23, 2017

It was otherwise England's session as Vince and Stoneman looked untroubled, the former enjoying plenty of joy through the covers.

Nathan Lyon (0-8) showed spin is likely to be a factor, getting some turn and looking dangerous in just the second hour of the Test.

Source: OPTA