Warner out for second duck in a row after Australia elect to bat
Wednesday 4 September 2019 18:17, UK
Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne frustrated England with fifties before Craig Overton broke a 117-run stand before tea on a weather-affected opening day of the fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford
Smith (60no) and Labuschagne (67) took Australia from 28-2 to 144-2, only for recalled seamer Overton - playing his first home Test - to bowl the latter 15 minutes before the break with a delivery that brushed off stump.
Smith picked up where he left off before he missed the third Test with concussion, adding another half-century to his scores of 144, 142 and 92, while Labuschagne notched his fourth Ashes fifty in a row.
Australia were 170-3 at the interval, Travis Head unbeaten on 18 having survived an lbw review when a ball from Ben Stokes that knocked him off his feet was shown to have pitched outside leg stump.
Broad had dismissed David Warner (0) for the fifth time in the series, as well as his second successive duck, and also his opening partner Marcus Harris (13) as England snaffled two early wickets after losing the toss.
Rain prevented any play between lunch and 4pm and caused another five-minute delay in the afternoon, with gusty conditions also forcing the umpires to temporarily remove the bails and then call for heavier ones.
Australia can once again retain the Ashes with victory, having spurned the chance to do so at Headingley 10 days ago when Stokes' unbeaten century inspired England to a series-saving, one-wicket win.
Watch continued live coverage of the fourth Test on Sky Sports The Ashes. You can also follow over-by-over commentary and in-play clips on our rolling blog on skysports.com and the Sky Sports app.
