50 for Jason Roypublished at 9.2 overs

9.2 overs

Eng 76-0

It's like England are playing a different sport to Australia. Jason Roy has 50 from 36 balls. It's been excellent to watch. Leg-side power, off-side timing.

Image source, Reuters

Jonathan Agnew
BBC cricket correspondent on Test Match Special

These two complement each other perfectly - they look like they enjoy batting together so much.

Brilliant. There's a man in a high-viz near the sightscreen. I say near. He's at mid-off. Jonny Bairstow is still distracted, holding out his right arm. The man takes one pace away. Bairstow waves his arm. Two paces. Another wave. This carries on until the chap is about 15 yards from where he started. Bairstow celebrates a job well done by thumping Jhye Richardson through the covers for four.

Image source, Getty Images

Lyon has a very deliberate approach. Throws out the right hand. Jog, slow down, coil, release, pivot. White towel poking out his yellow trousers. Too short. Roy swings the hammer and gets yet another boundary through the covers.

Image source, Getty Images

Jonathan Agnew
BBC cricket correspondent on Test Match Special

That Jason Roy four, off the back foot and through the covers, is majestic. The best shot of the series for me.

Did I say Australia were 50 short? The way Jason Roy is playing, it might be 150 short. Michael Neser is getting the treatment. A couple of flicks off the pads, then a back-foot punch with better timing than Ringo Starr's drumming. Three fours. Roy has 43 from 28.

Image source, Rex Features

Jonathan Agnew
BBC cricket correspondent on Test Match Special

A real feature of Trent Bridge, for me, was not just the four and sixes but the brilliant running between the wickets.

Nathan Lyon, the Ashes-tormentor, bowling his off-breaks for the first time in the series. He's not given a friendly welcome by Jonny Bairstow, who twice rocks back to chop through the covers. Four, then three. The fans are into this, happy to let Lyon know that things haven't been going well for the Aussies lately. In a warm-up game, he was asked if he had sandpaper in his pocket. His reply? "No, just the Ashes."

Image source, AFP

Vic Marks
Ex-England spinner on BBC Test Match Special

Nathan Lyon would have been the pantomime villain in this series - if he'd taken to the stage!

Ooofff. Roy, for the first time, looks ugly, playing what can only be described as a slog at Michael Neser. Nowhere near it. The sort that makes you look really daft if you lose your poles. That's a tidier over for Australia. Only three runs from it.

Visually, it's a stunning evening. The sort of sunshine that Badly Drawn Boy sings about. There are some big coats being pulled on in the crowd, though. That wind is to be respected. More runs. Roy drives, then helps another around the corner. He has 30 from only 16 balls.

Eng 27-0published at 3.1 overs

3.1 overs

The first maximum. A Billy Stanlake bumper is quickly on to Jason Roy, but the top edge is enough to take it over the fine leg fence. England charging after this target.

David Wallace: Sculptors appear to give cricket the nod more than painters. Only three cricketers shown in the National Portrait Gallery. Anyone want to guess who they are?

Neser, who would probably like a night out in Manchester's Northern Quarter, asks the question against Jonny Bairstow. Australia like it, the umpire doesn't. Long conflab, probably too long to review, which they decide against, anyway. It would have been leggy.

Image source, Reuters

Vic Marks
Ex-England spinner on BBC Test Match Special

That shot of Jason Roy's would have been applauded in the 1950s as an orthodox cover drive. When he plays like this, you think he would be successful against any ball - whatever the colour. He's scored a lot of his runs in an orthodox manner in this series.

Big Billy Stanlake shares the new balls, serving up a half-volley that Jason Roy sends through the covers with the sort of drive smart enough to be a bank manager. Proper cricket shot, that. It already feels like Australia might be 50 short. Roy again! Back down the ground.

Michael Neser's beard is very hipster. I bet he eats organic porridge for breakfast, wears trousers made of hemp and only drinks IPA. Even though the sun is out, the floodlights are on. He's tidy for the remaining five balls of the over.

Image source, Reuters

Four from the first ball of the innings. Here we go again...