Nathan Lyon crosses 400-wicket mark as Australia win 1st Ashes Test by 9 wickets

Australia clinched the first Ashes Test, defeating England by nine wickets on Saturday with a day-and-a-half to spare. Off-spinner Nathan Lyon picked up his 400th Test wicket and claimed three more to destroy England's hopes of a fightback.

England resumed Day 4 on 220-2, but Lyon took a wicket in the fourth over after which the visitors collapsed and lost eight wickets for just 77 runs. England were all out for 297, with Australia needing only 20 runs to win. The hosts got home in only 5.1 overs. Makeshift opener Alex Carey was dismissed for 9. Marcus Harris (9 not out) brought up the winning runs with a boundary.

Lyon ended England's overnight partnership of Joe Root and Dawid Malan for 162 when he dismissed the latter, having him caught at bat-pad for 82. With the scalp, Lyon joined retired Shane Warne (708) and Glenn McGrath (563) as the only Australians to claim 400 or more wickets in Test cricket.

Lyon added the scalps of Ollie Pope (4), who was caught in the slip. He also dismissed Ollie Robinson (8) and Mark Wood (6) to return with figures of 4 for 91.

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England captain Joe Root missed out on hundred as Australia dominate

England skipper Joe Root could only add three runs to his overnight score and fell for 89 - his highest score in an Ashes Test Down Under. He was caught behind off Cameron Green in the seventh over of the day.

After Australia took the new ball, all-rounder Ben Stokes (14) was squared up by a rising delivery from Pat Cummins and edged a catch to gully. Jos Buttler (23) was next to go, caught behind off Josh Hazlewood's bowling.

Lyon picked up two from the tail, with the innings ending when Green had Chris Woakes (16) caught behind. Australia eased to the target of 20 without any trouble to take a 1-0 lead in the five-Test series.

Australian batter Travis Head was declared Player of the Match for his 152-run innings. Speaking after winning the award, he said:

“It was great to get the nod and great to contribute. It was a fantastic week and a great starting point for us as a team. A bit of credit goes to Davey (Warner) and Marnus. Their partnership really set me up. I learned a lot from the way that Jos Buttler played and took it on. It was nice to get a score there and this morning was fantastic. Just a lot of emotion in the moment. It was just about riding the wave with the crowd, which is what Test cricket is all about.”

The second Ashes Test, which will be a day-night encounter, starts in Adelaide on Thursday, December 16.