The Ashes 2015 DAY one recap: England vs Australia cricket score from Cardiff

England edge the day one. Joe Root was the stand out player for England. 

Join us for all the action from Day Two at 10am tomorrow morning.

Josh Hazlewood will bowl this final over of the day and Stuart Broad is on strike.

Some short stiff but Broad survives and that is a maiden.

England close the day on 343-7

We don't have much time left. Play will end at 6.45pm local time and that will be just short of the allotted 90 overs.

Johnson bowls to Ali and it is a maiden.

Time for one more over 

WICKET: Buttler c Johnson b Hazlewood 27

Oh dear. What a cheap dismissal that was. Buttler just chipped the ball to Mitchell Johnson at mid-on and Johnson did not have to move. 

Stuart Broad comes in to one or two boos from the Aussie fans. 

Wicket maiden

Buttler takes a single from the first ball of Johnson's over.

Ali then plays an excellent shot from a shorter ball and the ball races away for FOUR that was a really good shot.

Buttler has looked good in the last few overs. Two more follow with a nice square drive.

He then follows it up with FOUR through the gap at third man.

Buttler takes a single and then Ali scores two from the final ball of the over.  

Buttler gets two off the bowling of Johnson, good shot straight out of the middle of the bat. 

Two more follow with a shot through midwicket and then takes a single off the final ball of the over.

Ali scores FOUR with a nice shot through the covers with the full face of the bat.

Australia take the second new ball and throw it to Johnson.

Buttler clips the ball away for three runs and Ali takes a single from the final ball of the over.

Last over before the new ball is due and Josh Hazlewood will bowl what will surely be the last with this old one.

Ali leaves the final ball and it hits his thigh. It looks too high and as a result the umpire does not raise his finger. Australia get all of their reviews back when they take the new ball, so Clark might as well review this as it is pretty much a free review. As expected the ball is deemed to be going over the stumps. So not out.

Maiden over

Mitchell Johnson comes back into the attack and he is greeted with pantomime booing from this well oiled Cardiff crowd.

Buttler sends the ball to the boundary with an outside edge for FOUR

Ali is certainly enjoying this new brand of aggressive cricket as he slog-sweeps Lyon for SIX over deep midwicket.

Two more off the final ball of the over with a shot over mid-off

WICKET: Stokes B Starc 52 

Excellent ball from Starc, clean bowls Stokes and he celebrates by putting his finger to his lips. 

Moeen Ali is the new man in the middle

And Ali is off the mark with two runs through mid-on. Same again next ball and same result, two more. 

Three more follow with a shot on the leg side. 

Buttler gets in on the act with a nice cover drive that goes for FOUR

Butler is off the mark with three runs.

Now Stokes gets three more and that takes him past 50. He has played on the front foot since he came to the middle. 

Stokes scores FOUR off the first ball of Starc's over with a edge that just goes over third slip and away to the boundary. 

It's never boring watching Stokes.

Two more follow and suddenly he is on 49.

Nathan Lyon comes back into the attack for Australia in place of David Warner.

Stokes takes a single off the fifth ball of the over. 

Mitchell Starc comes back into the attack

WICKET: Root C Watson B Starc

One drive too many and this time Root pays. It was a wide-ish ball and Root got an edge to it and Watson took it comfortably at slip. That is a big wicket for Australia.

Jos Buttler is the new man in the middle for England. Difficult time for him to come in. Late in the day, and with the new ball just round the corner. 

Stokes is going along nicely and he flicks the ball past Haddin and down to the fine leg boundary for FOUR. 

Stokes adds another single before Root adds one more from the final ball of the over. 

Stokes clips one on the pads from Watson away for three runs. 

The new ball will be available in around nine overs time and Australia will no doubt want to take it, anything to try and get a breakthrough before stumps. 

Well here is something different, David Warner is coming on to bowl.

With the history between the two, Root will not want to get out to Warner.

Root gets two off the first ball with a shot to third man. 

Root adds another single and then another run is added to the extra's column with a leg bye.

Stokes takes a single off the first ball and then Root adds another single. 

England have done well to keep the runs flowing since Ballance's dismissal. But with Stokes and Root in the middle it was only going to go one way.

Root clips the ball wide of square leg for three more. 

Poor ball from Starc leads to four more byes, Haddin dived and got a clove to it, but could not stop it from racing away to the boundary. 

Stokes takes a single off the final ball

Watson is sent to the boundary from Stokes with a shot to backward point for FOUR

There has not been much joy for these Australian bowlers since lunch today

Starc returns to the attack.

Root gets two more with a shot to backward point.

Root cuts the ball between gully and point and they run three, the run rate has been good for England today. 

Probably a little over an hour left of play and England will hope these two are still there at stumps.

Lyon had provided control at his end, but a couple of loose deliveries are punished by Stokes.

First he chips a full delivery on the leg side and it bounces over the rope for FOUR

Then Lyon bowls a short and wide ball and Stokes rocks back and sends the ball down to the boundary for FOUR

Nice drive from Root, but it does not quite have the legs to make the boundary and they run two.

Starc then bowls a full ball and Root gets an inside edge down to long-leg for two more. 

Root clips the ball away to fine leg for a single.

Big, big shot from Stokes as he scores his second SIX of his innings. He comes down the pitch and sends the ball back high over the bowlers head.

Root sends Starc to the boundary with a shot between the slips for FOUR.

He adds one more with a shot that is stopped by Lyon

Lyon is keeping the runs down at the other end, he bowls another maiden. 

Michael Clark will be pleased with the control that Lyon is providing. 

Stokes takes a single from the first ball. 

Root comes forward and plays a delightful cover drive and the ball beats the chasing fielder to the boundary. That takes Root on to 111

England have scored 20 runs off the last two overs. So what Australia needed was a maiden over and that is exactly what Nathan Lyon delivered. 

Joe Root is rightly getting the majority of the attention, but Ben Stokes seems keen to get in on the act. 

He makes his mark with a massive SIX with a hook shot that goes easily over the rope. 

Nice shot from the penultimate ball of the over from Stokes, he got forward and played behind the fielder and away to the point boundary for FOUR more.

Ten from the over. This could be fun

What a hundred from Joe Root. He came in with England in trouble again and he should have been caught off his second ball by Brad Haddin but he has played some wonderful strokes today.

What a star he has become. What an important player for England and their chances of winning the Ashes this year.

To think he was left out of the last Test of that 5-0 humiliation in Australia. He went away, worked at his game, vowed to be more positive and has become one of the very best batsmen in the world. Now go big Joe, go big.

There it is. Joe Root has a century. Excellent batting from the Yorkshireman, and a timely innings as well. England were in trouble when he came to the middle and he has played freely with an almost carefree attitude. It has been a pleasure to watch. 

He brought up his hundred with a FOUR off a full and wide ball from Hazlewood and it races away to the point boundary. 

Chants of 'ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT' go up around the ground. 

There's another one, this one was another lovely drive down towards mid-on and away for FOUR.

Root then plays a pull shot and does not time it quite right and he 'only' gets two from it. 

Well batted Joe Root, that is the fastest first innings century in Ashes history 

It was the drinks break that seemed to do for Alastair Cook and now tea appears to have broken Gary Ballance's concentration.

That's a plumb lbw and reward for Joshn Hazlewood, who has probably been Australia's best bowler so far today.

Ballance has just missed a straight one there really and he will be so frustrated but that's a welcome return to form for him and a priceless partnership with Joe Root for England.

Now here's Ben Stokes, the scourge of New Zealand to join the man with whom he transformed the Lord's Test and the whole atmosphere of England's cricket at the start of this international summer.

That wicket has made it an even day again. These two need to stick around for England.

Johnson has the chance to bowl at Stokes. 

Stokes gets an inside edge to the third ball and the ball goes back and hits his foot and just misses the stumps. 

This should be a good match between Johnson and Stokes

Hazlewood takes the ball at the other end. 

Ballance gets two from the first ball with a flick backward of square

WICKET: BALLANCE LBW B HAZLEWOOD 61

A full ball undoes Ballance. It stayed low and Ballance missed the straight ball and it was going on to hit the stumps. Not too much doubt about it and after a short consultation with Root there is no review. Rightly so. It was plumb out.

In comes Ben Stokes. If he can get in, then the run-rate could shoot up with these two in the middle.

Stokes is off the mark with three runs through midwicket

Mitchell Johnson takes the ball first up after tea. Root is on 93 and is on strike. 

As has been the case a few times today, five dot balls is followed by a boundary.

Root does not quite find the middle of the bat, he gets a thick edge to it and it races away for FOUR

TEA REPORT FROM LAWRENCE BOOTH - EDITOR OF WISDEN AND SPORTSMAIL CRICKET WRITER

The cry of ‘Roooooot!’ could become a familiar one this summer. It sounds like a prolonged boo the first time you hear it, but turns out to be something else entirely: the bray of a crowd who have come to expect the best, and barely need a syllable to convey their approval.

This was Joe Root’s session, two hours in which Australia’s early advantage evaporated into what little blue sky Cardiff was able to summon up – and two hours for Brad Haddin to reflect on the chance he dropped before lunch when Root had yet to score.

Resuming after the break on 33, Root moved to 93 with a series of effortless drives, some through the covers, one or two straight. And, dropping anchor with a relish that seemed to have deserted him of late, Gary Ballance leant stoical support.

From the depths of 43 for three, this pair have so far added 147, and drawn the wind from Australia’s sails.

There were moments of luck for Root amid the general sense of a world-class batsman on top of his game and loving every minute.

He collected four off the inside edge against Mitchell Johnson on 53. In the next over Australia reviewed an lbw shout from Nathan Lyon, only for Hawk-Eye to save Root because the ball had pitched a micron outside leg stump.

But long innings against this Australian attack can rarely be without their hiccups, and Root otherwise looked what he is: one of the most in-form handful of batsmen in the world.

Almost as gratifying for England was the performance of Ballance, whose deep-in-the-crease technique has been pulled apart on a regular basis since Trent Boult made it look like French cricket during the New Zealand series.

He still squirts and pokes, throwing in the odd drive when width and confidence allow, but Ballance has never been concerned with how he looks.

This is just as well. But he has guts too. In mid-afternoon, with Johnson steaming in from round the wicket, Ballance got into line, took a blow or two for his troubles, and repelled the man who had made English lives a misery in Australia not so long ago.

This appallingly slow pitch might have been designed to neuter Johnson, it’s true. And his figures of 12-0-55-0 did not tell the full story. But the challenge was still there, and Ballance rose to it, unassumingly: when the 100 stand came up, his share was 25 to Root’s 72.

There is a long way to go, but this Yorkshire pair have answered Australia’s pre-lunch blows with aplomb.

Hazlewood to bowl the final over before tea. 

Root takes a single with a punch off to cover and Ballance sees off the rest of the over without too much bother. 

England going well at tea. 

Ballance gets two runs with a shot down to long leg from a ball that was rising into his ribcage.

Not long until tea and the Aussies will want to get off, refresh and comeback and have another crack after the break

Hazlewood bowls a maiden to Root.

The England batsman is in the nervous nineties but he is not looking to nervous at the moment. He has batted well, he has had his fair share of luck, but take nothing away from him. 

Three scoreless balls from Johnson and then he changes angle and a bad ball follows.

Ballance flicks the ball to the square leg boundary and he sees it race away for FOUR.

Excellent block to end the over 

Five dot balls from Hazlewood and then he bowls one that is short and wide and Root is not in the mood to miss out on runs there. 

Root makes no mistake and sends the ball to the point boundary. He is into the nineties.  

And what an important half century that is from Gary Ballance.

He came into this match under enormous pressure, having had his technique completely dissected by Trent Boult in the New Zealand series, but one thing he has in abundance is mental strength.

His temperament has served him well here because he has worn a few from Mitchell Johnson but he has hung on in there and kept Joe Root company in a vital partnership for England.

Gripping stuff, this. Australia need a breakthrough now.

Root takes a single off the first ball of Starc's over.

Ballance brings up his FIFTY with a lovely square drive. It was a wide ball and he got down well to drive the ball to the cover point boundary. 

It is a change of ends for Watson as he comes back into the attack.

Ballance moves one away from his half century with a couple of runs through midwicket. 

Australia could do with a wicket before tea.

Starc comes back into the attack to replace Watson.

Four byes first up, Root leaves the ball as it races away down the leg side.

FOUR more off the bat this time and it is Root with a delightful cover drive as the chants of 'ROOOOOOOOT' again can be heard from the stands. 

Root adds two more with a shot clipped away to long leg.

Root works one away to long leg for a single, Ballance then works one away through cover point for two.

Ballance then comes forward and works the ball outside off for a single and Root ends the over with a single. 

Root adds one more to the total as England look to build their innings.

Ballance is edging his way to his half century and he adds two more to his tally with a shot clipped away though midwicket. 

Ballance rolls the ball down to third man for a single.

Root then works the ball away on the leg side and takes one run. 

Watson bowls four byes as it goes down the leg side and away to the boundary.

Root then finds the boundary with the bat, really nice shot, he got forward, got his head over the ball and played the ball through the covers for FOUR

Root takes a single off Lyon with a sweep shot down to long leg.

Just one from the over

Another bowling change for Australia and here comes Shane Watson.

Loosener in the second ball, it was short and wide and Root punishes it with a shot wide of backward point and away for three. 

Lyon to Root and the England batsman gets forward well to play the ball away for a single.

Key time this for England. Both batsmen are in and they need to make sure they do not lose a wicket now and see the pendulum swing back the other way.

While this fascinating battle continues, a word about Cardiff. To be honest, the first Test should not be here.

It should be at Trent Bridge, where Jimmy Anderson is king and England started the last home Ashes so well and so dramatically.

But sadly, as with so much of English cricket, it was financial decision to bring this match here, as it was in 2009.

The bottom line is that the ECB were wrong to encourage Glamorgan to take on a mountain of debt when there are already plenty of good international venues in England.

Having said that Glamorgan staged a very good Test six years ago and they are doing a good job this time. Now that the Swalec Stadium is here then the ECB are obligated to support it, really.

And Hugh Morris, one of the unsung heroes of England's rise to the top of the cricketing world, is now doing a fantastic job here as chief executive and director of cricket.

Morris has managed to get rid of much of Glamorgan's debut and this match will be invaluable to that process.

Root sends Johnson to the boundary with a really nice drive that beats the diving fielder at mid-off and runs away for FOUR.

Root adds one more with a shot to square leg.

Time for drinks.

Root hits a FOUR off the first ball. He used his wrists well and punched the ball through the covers to the boundary.

Big appeal from Australia calling for LBW against Root. It seemed to pitch outside leg stump and the Aussies go upstairs to review. The replays agree with the umpire and Root survives - again. 

Ballance plays a single into the covers. 

Root adds one more with a sweep shot and then Ballance ends the over with two more with a shot off the pads.

Root's luck is in again! Having been dropped at the start of his innings, now he plays a drive off Johnson and gets an inside edge and the ball just goes past the leg stump and away for FOUR. 

Root proving he is not only a good batsman, he is also a lucky one. Not a bad combination. 

One more for Root

Root takes a single off Lyon with a half-pull shot to deep square. 

Ballance blocks the rest of the over.

Johnson bowls short to Root and the England batsman plays it down to long leg for a single. 

Johnson bowls another short ball to Ballance and that seems to be the kind of thing he can expect to get now for the rest of the the afternoon.

What a valuable half-century that is from Joe Root. What a player he has become. And don't forget Brad Haddin dropped him second ball today.

What a costly miss that might be! England are not out of the woods yet. There is a long way to go.

But Root and Gary Ballance have gone a long way to putting right that disastrous loss of three early wickets this morning.

Here comes Nathan Lyon, figures 1 for 1 so far today.

Root gets two off the first ball of the over thanks to a thick outside edge.

Two more follow with a shot on the leg side and that brings up the 50 for Root. A very timely innings from the Yorkshireman.

A single follows.  

Mitchell Johnson returns to the attack. 

Root plays the ball down to square leg and away for two runs.

Root then plays one down to fine leg and takes a single.

The runs have slowed a little for Root since lunch. 

Just a single from this over by Hazlewood which he works off to midwicket off the inside of his bat.

Ballance has looked good since the over before lunch and he finds the boundary with a beautifully timed shot front of square and away for FOUR

Ballance then edges it but it falls short of the slips. It was quite a long way short of Shane Watson in the slips but Starc looks disappointed. 

One bye follows from Starc and then Root adds a single

Root sees out another Hazlewood over without troubling the scorers.

Maiden over

Ballance plays the ball wide of the slip cordon and along the ground and it races away to the boundary for FOUR. 

Starc is not looking at his best at the moment, he just looks a little out of sorts.

Root gets a boundary off the first ball of Hazlewood's next over with a good cut shot wide of point. 

No more runs come off the over as England move onto 99.

The rain seems to have disappeared but there seems to be a bit of a chill in the air as the umpires call for some quilted jackets. 

Starc takes the ball at the other end. 

It seems the umpires took the wrong jackets and have now swapped so they have the right sizes! 

Starc oversteps the mark and it is a no ball.

Root takes a single off the final ball of the over to keep the strike. 

Welcome back after lunch.

Despite the slow start to the game and the early wickets. This partnership between Root and Ballance has helped England.  

Hazlewood takes the ball after lunch. Root gets three runs off the second ball with a shot dragged wide of mid-on. Not quite the timing he had before lunch, but it is only the second ball of the session. 

Ballance looked to be getting into it more and playing his shots in the final over before lunch. He gets a single with a shot behind square. 

LUNCH TIME REPORT FROM LAWRENCE BOOTH - EDITOR OF WISDEN AND SPORTSMAIL CRICKET WRITER

First blood, then, to Australia – but this was a curious first morning in the 2015 Ashes.

The cricket began 15 minutes late because of a stubborn determination to fit in anthems and (underwhelming) fireworks. And when it did start, it quickly became clear that this Cardiff pitch has less life in it than a morgue.

But if that helped keep Mitchell Johnson at bay, it could not prevent England from losing three wickets after Alastair Cook won the toss. Crucially, Cook was one of them, cutting at the second ball after the drinks break and edging Nathan Lyon into the gloves of Brad Haddin. He had made a solid-looking 20.

That followed the early departure of Adam Lyth, who was squared up by the 12th ball of the morning and thus provided young Josh Hazlewood with a wicket in his first over of Ashes cricket. As Hazlewood later underlined with three successive maidens to Gary Ballance, he will be a handful for England’s left-handers this summer.

Perhaps of most concern for England was the demise of Ian Bell for a single, trapped in front by a full-length inswinger from Mitchell Starc. Six of Bell’s last nine Test innings have been either nought or one. He needs a score, quickly: his golden summer of 2013 is fading fast.

England would have been in even deeper trouble had Haddin not put down Joe Root second ball off the lively Starc: 43 for four would have been a Welsh mountain to climb. Yet Haddin’s mishap was the cue for the most lively batting of the morning.

In Starc’s next over, Root produced off-drives and cuts for four, and an extra-cover drive for three, then carved the returning Johnson high over point for four more.

When he finally got to Hazlewood’s end, Root uppercut him for four more. Having given Ballance a 13-over headstart, Root had overtaken him in six. It was reminiscent of the counter-attack that had helped England recover from 30 for four on the first morning of the Lord’s Test against New Zealand in May.  

As for Johnson, there were moments of menace in a first spell of four overs that cost 14. One or two deliveries defied this pudding of a pitch, forcing Haddin to take the ball above his head.

But Ballance survived one blow to his chest via his bat handle to reach lunch on a potentially restorative 28, and Root’s aggression had brought him 33 off 24 deliveries. Ebb and flow, cut and thrust. And barely a sledge in earshot.

This time it is the turn of Ballance to find the boundary. He slices the ball off the outside edge and runs away through backward point and away for FOUR. 

Short and wide ball from Johnson and it races off the bat through point and away for FOUR. 

Ballance then clips the ball through mid-wicket and they run three. 

Root gets the final run of the session and from being 40-3 England are 88-3 at lunch. So while it is not great, it is better than it could have been.

What a delightful shot from Root. He waited for it and leant backwards and almost slapped the ball over backward point and away for FOUR.

I don't want to jinx things, but it really is a joy to watch Root bat in this form.

Two more for Root, this time he leans into the ball and pushes it through to extra cover

There is a little rain in the air, but while the umpires check the conditions there is no sign at the moment that they are going to take them off, which is good news. 

Mitchell Johnson comes back into the attack for the Aussies and Root sends him to the boundary straight away. He plays the ball beautifully over point and away to the boundary for FOUR.

Root gets two more with a punch shot. Three more follow, this time it is not timed quite as as well and does not have the legs to get to the boundary. 

Root really is enjoying this so far. He is onto 26 off 17 balls. 

Hazlewood continues round the wicket Ballance sees off the over without too much trouble. 

Maiden over.

Root does not seem to be worrying about the situation England are in and is focusing on playing his own game. The right way to be.

He scores FOUR more with a clips shot off his pads and away to the long leg boundary. 

Two more runs for Root with a drive down the ground. 

There is some joy for Starc as he forces Root into playing and missing.

Hazlewood bowls over the wicket to Ballance and the England batsman is able to defend the ball with relative ease.

Hazlewood opts to come around the wicket for the final two balls asks questions of Ballance. 

Well, Mitchell Starc got that right and England are in trouble here now at the start of this Ashes series.

That lbw might have been worth a review as it was swinging big time down the leg-side. We will wait to see HawkEye's verdict on that one with interest.

But Ian Bell's bad run continues and a lot depends on Joe Root now.

Joe Root is off the mark with a lovely drive that races away between the gap just wide of mid-off and the ball races away for FOUR. It is a popular one with the Welsh crowd who greet the shot with chants of 'Rooooooooooooooot'

Another good shot from Root and another boundary. He seems to have got his eye in relativity easily. This time he plays the ball into his favourite area through backward point and away for FOUR.

Next looks nice, but is not timed as well and does not have the legs to get to the boundary and Root and Ballance run three. Good over this from England.

Ballance takes a single off the final ball   

Another change from Clark as he brings Hazlewood back into the attack.

Ballance lets the over go by without troubling the scorers.

Maiden over.

WICKET: Bell LBW B Starc 1

Oh no! Things are going from bad to worse for England. Starc bowls a low, swinging ball that hits Bell low on the pad and there is not too much doubt in Marais Erasmus' mind as he raises his finger. Replays suggest the ball could have been doing a little two much, but there is no review from Bell and England are three down. 

Here comes England's most inform batsman, Joe Root. 

Dropped! What is going on here? Root edges the ball and Haddin flies to his right and gets a glove to the ball but he puts it down. Let off for England. 

Wicket maiden from Starc

That's a huge, huge blow for England. Alastair Cook has been trying to be positive against Nathan Lyon, clearly with an eye in getting after him as Essex did in the warm-up, but he just wasn't able to get him away and now he's fallen to one of his favourite shots in the cut.

So disappointing because Australia's fast men haven't really hit their straps so far, particularly Mitchell Starc, in what are excellent bowling conditions.

That's a real bonus for Australia and England very much need Ian Bell to produce the sort of form he showed in 2013 when Australia were last here.

Lyon to continues after the drinks break to Cook

WICKET: Cook C Haddin B Lyon 20

Just two balls after the break and Australia have another breakthrough. Cook got a top edge to the ball which had a bit of extra bounce and it was a simple catch for Haddin up at the stumps. 

Ian Bell comes to the middle - the man who has played in many an Ashes series and was top scorer the last time Australia were over here.

Bells is off the mark with an odd shot that goes to mid-on.

Another bowling change for Australia and Starc is coming back into the attack

Full toss and Ballance punishes it with a good shot through the gap at extra cover and the ball runs away for FOUR.

Ballance gets two off the final ball of the over with a shot into the gap at midwicket. 

Time for drinks

This should be and interesting match up Lyon vs Cook

Cook does well to not get trapped by the spin, but no runs are scored off the over. 

Maiden

Johnson continues and bowls to Ballance.

Ballance gets out of the way of the first two balls. 

Ballance gets two runs with a shot through midwicket.

Second bowling change of the morning for Australia and Clark opts for spin.

Nathan Lyon comes into the attack and he bowls a maiden first up to Cook

Mitchell Johnson is bowling with serious pace here and he's starting to find some swing too on what is a really lifeless pitch.

He bowled really well at kent in the first warm-up game but the big question was could he do it here on the big stage?

I think the answer is that he's going to be a considerable threat again for Australia in this Ashes. This is a fierce examination of England, in particular Gary Ballance.

Cook gets another FOUR but does not know too much about a it. 

The ball comes off the face off the bat and through the slips and away for FOUR

Cook then half-pulls a shot to square leg and gets one for it.

Cook scores another FOUR, but it is not a convincing shot from the skipper as it flies off his edge and goes fine of gully. 

Good soft hands from Cook as a guides the ball away for a single. 

Ballance then plays one off his pads and gets two from it. 

England settling well here after that early set back.

Ballance pushes a Johnson ball to square and he takes a single.

Cook then plays a ball away down the leg side and it again goes away for a single. 

Johnson consistently into the 90mph range now. 

Hazlewood continues at the other end. 

Cook gets a boundary with a good, strong pull shot that goes backward of square and races away to the rope.

Early bowling change for Australia. One Mitchell for another, off goes Starc and into the attack comes Johnson. 

Johnson did play here in Cardiff four years ago and took five wickets in the Test. 

First ball is a loosener and it is 87mph. 

Cook then scores two with a shot through the covers. He follows it up with a single, he's getting quicker as this one is 89mph. 

Final ball of the over and Ballance gets a single and it has taken Johnson to get into the 90s, that last ball was 91mph.

Ballance is on strike to Hazlewood and he edges one through the slip cordon and away for four. 

It was not a confident shot and just went through two of the fielders and away to the boundary

Gary Ballance is the new man out in the middle for England and he will have hoped to have been in the pavilion a little longer than he was.

As it is, he is in the middle now and will want to stay there for as long as possible.

Maiden over from Starc 

First blood to Australia! That's the end of Adam Lyth to a good low catch from David Warner and Josh Hazlewood has justified Michael Clarke's decision to give him the new ball.

What a tense time it is for Gary Ballance now. He had a tough time against New Zealand and Brendon McCullum reckons he is too high at three in the England order.

Let's see if Ballance has worked out his technical problems in the month since last he played for England.

Josh Hazlewood takes the ball at the other end. 

Cook on strike and he gets England underway with the first run of the series. 

Lyth then gets off the mark with a shot off to third man and he gets a couple of runs. 

First boundary off the day as Lyth clips the ball away firmly through square leg and away for FOUR. Really nice timing from the Yorkshireman there. 

WICKET: Lyth C Warner B Hazlewood

Dear oh dear, not the start England wanted. Hazlewood bowls a straight ball and it keeps low and Lyth gets a thick edge to the ball and goes into the hands of David Warner at gully. Excellent start for Australia.

The third ball from Starc keeps very low and just goes past the off stump 'oohs' and 'Ahhs' from the stands. 

Starc then bowls a ball at 86mph and it takes two bounces to get through to Brad Haddin behind the stumps.

Maiden over

The players are out on the pitch and Adam Lyth will face Mitchell Starc first up... 

An Ashes series is like no other in cricket. 

While we wait for the start of play, here is a former Ashes hero Graeme Swann talking about he used to deal with the pressure of playing Australia 

The players have made their way out onto the field via a rather grand red carpet. 

First up is the Welsh national anthem, followed by the Australian one and then finally God Save the Queen.

The anthems were then followed by fireworks and then handshakes between the two sets of players. 

Now I think we are just about ready to get on with what we are all here for: Cricket

The rain has stopped here and It looks as though we are ready to go but for some reason we are listening to some boy band. What's going on out there? Once there was a shower I think Glamorgan should have ditched their musical build-up to this Test. As Bumble would say - get on with the game!

There is a little bit of rain around Cardiff, it is not too heavy and we should be under way shortly. 

England: Alastair Cook (c), Adam Lyth, Gary Ballance, Ian Bell, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Stuart Broad, Mark Wood, James Anderson

Australia: David Warner, Chris Rogers, Steve Smith, Michael Clarke (c), Adam Voges, Shane Watson, Brad Haddin (wk), Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon

Ben Stokes hit the headlines and lifted the nation with his excellent hundred against New Zealand earlier in the summer. 

He has been compared to Andrew Flintoff and captain Cook certainly hopes he can play the 'Flintoff role'

Good morning from Cardiff where the big day has finally arrived and we are about to start another Ashes series!

What a sense of anticipation there is here in the Welsh capital. This may be the third Ashes series in two years - and we really do have to be careful not to have too much of a good thing - but the Ashes are as special as ever and easily the most important thing in cricket.

And Alastair Cook has struck the first blow for England by winning the toss and batting.

We are expecting a low, slow flat pitch here with Australia's extra pace nullified to an extent. Well that's the theory anyway and while Cook has made the right decision I think England could have a difficult morning on their hands. We have had rain here overnight and this morning and it just feels like a bowling day.

A glance outside a few moments ago also saw Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc swinging the ball round corners in practice. Hold your breath it could be an uncomfortable ride for a while!

Alastair Cook has won the toss and opted to bat first. Michael Clark has said had he won the toss he would have done the same. 

So England need to bat and aim to bat all day.

Sponsors Investec have made this short film to get you in the mood for the Ashes

England players are warming up ahead of the opening day of the Ashes with a game of football on the outfield. 

Memories of Glenn McGrath's injury come back from 2005 when he injured his ankle during a game of touch rugby.

Hopefully England's players will stay clear of any problems...

Former England captain Nasser Hussain gives his views on how England should start the series. 

His view: Bat first and bat all day

PAUL NEWMAN: Little more than a month ago it hardly seemed worth England turning up for the Ashes, so remote did their chances appear against a formidable Australia. Perhaps now, however, they can dare to dream.

Read the rest of Paul Newman's preview to the series here

England will fancy their chances to regain The Ashes on home soil, while Australia were born confident. 

So who better to judge the strengths and weaknesses of each side than Sportsmail's newest columnist, New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum.

He is predicting a very close series. 

If you are going to Cardiff for any of this first Test - or even if you are not - make sure you read David Lloyd's guide to the city and the ground.

Bumble says this is not a ground for spinners - Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar took one wicket between them in 2009 - so the chances are England won't select both Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid.

Hello and welcome to live coverage of day one of the first Ashes Test in Cardiff.

It is time for the talking to stop and the cricket to start. 

Australia may have won 5-0 Down Under 18 months ago, but they are without a win on these shores for 14 years. 

You will not miss any of the action with our over-by-over coverage