India fail to learn lessons of the past as Australia gifted early advantage

Cricket writer’s challenge: discuss bowling first in a Brisbane Test without referring to Nasser Hussain. Better to fail at that challenge in the first line and get it out of the way. England’s former captain has copped an unfair amount of grief for his decision at the toss in 2002. Captains who bat first and lose badly never get criticised for making that decision.

England of that era were likely to be thumped by an epochally great Australian side no matter what they chose. Facing Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, and Jason Gillespie, they were bowled out in the fourth innings for 79. Facing those three first up would not likely have helped.

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New Zealand v England: third men’s cricket Test, day one – as it happened

Matthew Potts and Gus Atkinson took three wickets apiece as England fought back well on an entertaining first day

35th over: New Zealand 121-1 (Latham 54, Williamson 8) Latham reaches his fifty with a gorgeous drive through mid-off when Atkinson overpitches. He barely celebrates at all, just a quick raise of the bat, and he’ll be desperate to convert this into a first Test century in two years.

That dream almost dies when he is dropped by Duckett for the second time today. It was a really tough chance, diving low to the left at third slip, and Duckett couldn’t hang on.

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