AUS vs ENG – WATCH: Josh Hazlewood’s perfect set-up to get rid of Joe Root in first innings of Ashes opener

The opening Test of Ashes 2021-22 between Australia and England saw complete domination of the Aussie pacers. The hosts’ bowling attack steamrolled the visitors batting unit as England got dismissed for a mere 147 on Day 1 of the Brisbane Test.

After winning the toss at Gabba, the tourists opted to bat first. However, their decision went horribly wrong as Aussie pacer Mitchell Starc dismissed opener Rory Burns for a golden duck on the very first ball of the match.

Things went from bad to worse for England when Josh Hazlewood removed Dawid Malan soon. As the visitors were 11/2, all eyes were set on captain Joe Root to deliver in the challenging time, but his stay in the middle was cut short by Hazlewood.

The right-arm speedster perfectly set up the English skipper, who faced only nine deliveries and went back without troubling the scorers. It all happened during the sixth over of England’s first innings when Hazlewood got the red-leather seam all over the place.

Hazlewood bowled a cluster of deliveries, all back of a length, both coming in and getting away. He then went a bit fuller and with the angle, forcing Root to play the forward defence. The ball held its line, took the edge to the first slip where David Warner made no mistake whatsoever.

Here is how the set-up took place:

5.1 – Hazlewood to Root, no run, good length outside off, left alone by the batter.
5.2 – Hazlewood to Root, no run, back of a length, the batsman hopped back to defend.
5.3 – Hazlewood to Root, no run, pitched at middle and off, forcing Root to push at it on the front foot, who got beaten on the edge.
5.4 – Hazlewood to Root, no run, a nip backer that came in sharply, and the batter couldn’t do anything as the ball struck on his back thigh.
5.5 – Hazlewood to Root, wicket, a bit fuller delivery that teased Root to push it as it found the edge to the first slips.

Here is the video: