Australia wait to claim Ashes lead

Australia are a mere 56 runs away from a 1-0 lead in this Magellan Ashes series after England's batting order faded for the second time in three days to all but ensure the home side's imposing unbeaten record at the Gabba will stretch into a 30th year.

Chasing 170 to win on a moribund surface that has been easier to tame the older the ball becomes, Australia went to stumps on Sunday evening at 0-114 after David Warner (60no) and Cameron Bancroft (51no) eased through a potentially hazardous 34-over period to close out an enthralling and at times controversial fourth day.

Australia's brand new opening partnership were cautious early in their innings before increasing the tempo late in the day, hitting 12 boundaries and a six between them as debutant Bancroft celebrated his maiden Test fifty.

Should Australia finish the match on Monday as expected, it will leave England needing to replicate the heroics of their legendary 2005 side, the last team to lift the Ashes urn having lost the opening match of the series.

And with just four days between the end of this Test and the start of the next, a historic day-night clash in Adelaide beginning on Saturday, it's the double capitulation of England's lower order that will be chief amongst their concerns.

Having taken the final six England wickets to fall on Friday for just 56 runs, the Australians claimed the last four today for just 10 in a little more than three overs as their pre-series pledge to bounce out the tail came to fruition.

That combined with the career-best form of Nathan Lyon, who picked up his 50th wicket of the calendar year today, and the ease with which Warner and Bancroft batted late in the day means the Aussies will, barring an unexpected twist on Monday, take plenty of momentum and confidence along with the series lead to Adelaide later this week.

England's collapse in the second session came after skipper Joe Root and opener Mark Stoneman, their two overnight batsmen, had earlier pushed their defiant partnership towards 50 as a lacklustre start from Australia's quicks and the increasingly older ball made survival seem far more probable than it had been on a fiery third evening.

It fell to Australia's chief pre-series provocateur, spinner Lyon (3-67), to provide the breakthrough. The threat of a delivery going on with the arm from around the wicket enticed the left-handed Stoneman (27) into an uncertain push outside off stump and a thick edge was well held by Steve Smith at first slip.

Captain and spinner then combined for a near carbon copy dismissal just six overs later, with Dawid Malan edging a straighter delivery into Smith's waiting hands to end the Ashes debutant's innings on 4.

But the most telling blow came moments before lunch when Josh Hazlewood (3-46) claimed the potentially match-sealing wicket of Root.

A ball after England's skipper passed 50 for the 46th time in Tests, and discussion began that there would be no better time than now for him to improve his historically poor conversion rate, Hazlewood jagged one back into the right-hander's pads, trapping him so adjacent with the woodwork that he didn't even opt to use one of England's two available reviews.

Apart from the contribution of the respective lower orders, the difference in this Test, and between the world's No.1 and No.2 Test batsmen, can be laid bare by the ability of Smith and Root to convert 50s into 100s. Smith's unbeaten 141 in Australia's first innings was his 21st Test ton to go with 21 half-centuries, while Root's score of 51 on Sunday was his 33rd fifty to go with 13 hundreds.

But England's skipper wasn't the only touring batsman to be mesmerised by the incisive bowling of Lyon from one end and the Gatling gun of Australia's dangerous three quicks from the other.

A 42-run stand between Moeen Ali and Jonny Bairstow pushed England's lead past 100 before Tim Paine justified his recall with an opportunistic stumping of Moeen, whose back foot, after countless video replays, was deemed to be on but not behind a generously painted crease line at the Vulture Street End.

And with England's lower order set up by Hazlewood and Lyon, Mitchell Starc (3-51) returned to knock them down.

Despite showing signs of a sore right ankle, the left-armer dug deep late in his spell to remove Chris Woakes, Jonny Bairstow and Stuart Broad in the space of just 10 deliveries, the former two dismissals coming from short balls and the latter to a contentious – but ultimately correct – caught behind decision.

Another short delivery, this time from Pat Cummins (1-23), in the next over ended the innings on 195, leaving just 170 runs between the Australians and a valuable 1-0 series lead.

Which, barring a batting calamity on Monday morning, they will take with them to Adelaide.

2017-18 International Fixtures:

Magellan Ashes Series

First Test Gabba, November 23-27. Buy tickets

Second Test Adelaide Oval, December 2-6 (Day-Night). Buy tickets

Third Test WACA Ground, December 14-18. Buy tickets

Fourth Test MCG, December 26-30. Buy tickets

Fifth Test SCG, January 4-8 (Pink Test). Buy tickets

Gillette ODI Series v England

First ODI MCG, January 14. Buy tickets

Second ODI Gabba, January 19. Buy tickets

Third ODI SCG, January 21. Buy tickets

Fourth ODI Adelaide Oval, January 26. Buy tickets

Fifth ODI Perth TBC, January 28. Join the ACF

Prime Minister's XI

PM's XI v England Manuka Oval, February 2. Buy tickets

Gillette T20 INTL Series

First T20I Australia v NZ, SCG, February 3. Buy tickets

Second T20I – Australia v England, Blundstone Arena, February 7. Buy tickets

Third T20I – Australia v England, MCG, February 10. Buy tickets

Fourth T20I – NZ v England, Wellington, February 13

Fifth T20I – NZ v Australia, Eden Park, February 16

Sixth T20I – NZ v England, Seddon Park, February 18

Final – TBC, Eden Park, February 21