Ashes 2017/18: 4th Test, Day 1, 5 things we learnt from the day

A scintillating yet slow, by his standards, hundred from David Warner set the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground alight, but it was Steven Smith who once again stole the show with some outstanding batting close to the stumps to put Australia way ahead after England had clawed their way back into the game at one point.

Smith was least troubled en route his half-century and looked every bit in his Bradmanesque zone once again, as England looked lost for ideas. Having got their way past a marauding Warner and a determined Bancroft, England hoped to end the day on a better note but that wasn't to be, with this Ashes turning out to be Steven Smith's own.

#5 David Warner is a beast

David Warner bulldozed his way to a fabulous hundred

David Warner was upbeat the moment he walked out to the middle on Day 1 of the fourth Test. He ploughed Stuart Broad down the ground in the fourth over with a defensive push that spoke volumes about the form he is in. Soon he was hammering away the English bowlers while Cameron Bancroft held up at the other end.

By lunch, Warner had raced into the eighties at a strike rate close to 90 and Joe Root was starting to run out of ideas. The afternoon sun beating down on the Melbourne Cricket Ground was thought to aid Warner's stroke-making and though he got a tad slower and was reprieved by Curran's no-ball, he completed his 21st Test hundred before edging Anderson behind on 105 close to tea.

#4 England comeback a bit in post-lunch session

Anderson picked up the all-important scalp of David Warner

The post-lunch session was unlike the first session of day 1. England looked more disciplined, tied down Warner's scoring shots and Woakes had the sturdy Bancroft trapped in front. Usman Khawaja also struggled to get the scoreboard ticking as England slowly pushed Warner into a corner.

Though Warner completed his ton, his strike rate of the first session wasn't to be seen. Anderson eventually eked out an edge off the southpaw just before tea. Although the daunting Steven Smith walked out to bat, England did feel they were back in the game. The session cost them a mere 43 runs, and gave them two crucial wickets.

#3 Stuart Broad's wicketless streak goes on and on

Broad has had a torrid time since setting foot in Australia

Stuart Broad had gone 19 overs without a wicket at Adelaide, and 35 in Perth. The lanky seamer looked well out of his groove, couldn't find his rhythm or zip and sprayed around costing England way too much especially with the conditions suiting his kind of bowling. However, here at MCG, nothing changed although Broad beat the bat more times and was the most economical and threatening of bowlers.

His 14 overs before tea came with four maidens and inspite of Warner's carnage, it cost him a measly 29 runs. England quickly needed their strike bowler to find his feet before Australia ran away with the game, especially with Anderson starting to appear more and more threatening. And right after 15.1 overs, he sent back Usman Khawaja to register his first wicket in 414 balls. He almost added another next ball, when Shaun Marsh was almost leg before wicket.

#2 Moeen Ali's horror tour continues

After some exceptional performances back home, Ali has looked pedestrian in Australia

Moeen Ali's all-round credentials make him a tempting pick, and England have benefitted from his bowling, something which was initially considered a bonus to his batting abilities. Soon enough, he became England's strike spinner, but has come a cropper in Australia. At the MCG, he went a step further, conceding 35 runs in his first six overs.

He was mostly short, found little spin and was fodder for David Warner's blistering shot-making. That Dawid Malan, the part-time leggie, bowled more overs - and much better than Ali, speaks volumes about the off-spinner's lack of impact. It is surprising that with England already out of the series, they didn't give a cap to young leg-spinner, Mason Crane, in Ali's place.

#1 Steven Smith just can't stop scoring

There is no better Test batsman in World cricket at the moment

Steven Smith's hunger for runs has no end. The Australian skipper is on a marathon at the moment and it doesn't look like it will stop till he crosses a batting average of 70. Nudging, flicking, driving, stepping out, pulling...you name it, he plays it without breaking a bead of sweat.

Smith bludgeoned his way past England's post-lunch session and made the post-tea session a traumatic one for Root's men. The Aussie skipper was at his flamboyant best, constantly rotating the strike, finding the odd boundary and putting England in a fix. That he looks well set for another hundred would be England's biggest worry heading into day 2.