England 9-238 (Alastair Cook 51, Jonathan Trott 49, Nathan Lyon 4-42, Ryan Harris 2-70) vs. Australia.

The right arm off spinner of Australia, Nathan Lyon, ripped through the middle order batting of England and sent them reeling on the 1^st day of the fourth Test.

England scored 238 runs after utilising 90 overs for the loss of 9 wickets in their first innings.

The fourth Investec Test of the five match series commenced on Friday, August 9, 2013, at Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street.

Earlier, the captain of England, Alastair Cook, won the toss and came in to bat along with Joe Root. They started off slowly by scoring just 18 runs in 11 overs and both hit their first four in the coming two overs. The first wicket fell at 34 when Root was gone for 16 and was replaced by Jonathan Trott as Cook kept on consolidating at his end. They scored 11 runs in the 21^st over and reached 57 after 27 overs when lunch break was taken.

The duo enhanced the run rate after the interval and was sending the ball out of the fence at regular intervals. The score went past the hundred runs mark in the 39^th over with a couple of fours from Trott. He became the second victim for 49 off 60 balls with 7 fours as the total touched 107. Kevin Pietersen joined in with Alastair Cook next, he dispatched two consecutive fours in the 42^nd over and added another two boundaries in the 47^th one. Cook attained his 32^nd Test fifty two overs later with a four as Pietersen was caught behind by Brad Haddin off Nathan Lyon for 26.

The third wicket fell at 149 and Alastair Cook was declared leg before wicket off Jackson Bird for 51 off 164 deliveries with 5 fours when the score touched 153. Lyon got rid of Ian Bell when he had scored just six runs as Jonny Bairstow and Matt Prior associated in the park. The pair crept to 173 in 62 overs while Prior hit two back to back fours in the next one and the partnership was taken to 189 as Prior was held lbw off Peter Siddle for 12. Jonny Bairstow went back to the pavilion in an identical fashion off Lyon for 14 and the hosts were struggling at 8-197 in 80.4 overs.

Graeme Swann tried to bring aggression to the game by getting 3 fours but was caught by Lyon at deep square leg off Ryan Harris for 13. Tim Bresnan and James Anderson were unbeaten for 12 and 16 runs respectively as the home side managed 238 with one wicket left in 90 overs.

Nathan Lyon was the star performer with four wickets, Ryan Harris held two whereas Jackson Bird, Shane Watson and Peter Siddle shared one wicket each.

The Australian bowlers have provided their team with a solid beginning and it will depend on their batsmen to enable them with a decisive first innings lead.