England 114-3 at lunch on Day 1 of final Ashes test after Bondi tribute at Sydney Cricket Ground
Sydney (AP): England was 114-3 at lunch on Day 1 of the final Ashes test against Australia on Sunday amid a strong security presence at the Sydney Cricket Ground and after an emotional on-field tribute for the Bondi terror victims and first responders.
After losing three wickets in quick succession midway through the session, fourth-wicket pair Joe Root and Harry Brook guided England to lunch in a good position.
At the break, Root was unbeaten on 31 and Brook was 23 not out.
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Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley got away to a swift start after England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and chose to bat on a bright, sunny day in Sydney.
Mitchell Starc ended their partnership at 35 when he teased an edge from Duckett (27) through to wicketkeeper Alex Carey for his 27th wicket of the series.
Australia then made a double strike just after the drinks break with Michael Neser trapping Crawley (16) lbw and, eight balls later, Scott Boland sending Jacob Bethell (10) on his way with a trademark ball that nipped off the seam and caught the edge through to Carey.
At 57-3 England was in trouble before Root and Brook doubled their score without further damage.
Heavy security and emotions
In a rarity at a sporting event in Australia, police with long-arm rifles, mounted police and riot squad officers were on patrol as part of heightened security measures at the sold-out match following the antisemitic Bondi Beach terror attack which killed 15 people three weeks ago.
Before play commenced, victims of the shootings, first responders and community members were honored with an on-field tribute, including a guard of honor and a standing ovation from the capacity crowd.
In strong emotional scenes, the largest roar of the morning was for Ahmed al Ahmed, the shop owner who helped put an end to the rampage of one of the shooters, as he joined other community members and emergency services on the field.
After the standing ovation, Ahmed, along with the others, were each greeted by the Australian team with Usman Khawaja embracing Ahmed, who was wearing a sling to protect the shoulder where he was shot during the attack.
Khawaja is playing his 88th and final test for Australia after announcing his retirement on Friday.
No place for spin
Australia made one change with allrounder Beau Webster getting his first appearance of the series at the expense of Jhye Richardson.
Webster's recall meant there was no space for spinner Todd Murphy, the first time Australia has not fielded a specialist spinner at the SCG since 1888.
England called up speedster Matthew Potts after Gus Atkinson pulled up lame during the Boxing Day test in its only change.
England lost each of the first three tests to allow Australia to retain the Ashes in just 11 days of on-field action.
England then won its first Ashes match Down Under since 2011 with a four-wicket win in the Boxing Day test that led to days of sustained criticism about the overly grassed pitch.
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Rupee falls 4 paise to 90.24 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee opened weak and declined 4 paise to 90.24 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday, as geopolitical uncertainties triggered by the US intervention in Venezuela fuelled the demand for the American currency.
According to forex traders, the rupee is expected to trade lower due to geopolitical development, even though a lower crude prices could provide some cushion.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 90.21 against the US dollar and lost further to trade at 90.24 against the greenback in early deals.
On Friday, the rupee settled lower by 22 paise at 90.20 against the US dollar.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.36 per cent higher at 98.50.
The US on Saturday carried out a military operation in Venezuela an deposed President Nicolas Maduro. President Donald Trump said the US would "run" the South American country and tap its vast oil reserves to sell to other nations.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.07 per cent lower at USD 60.70 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex declined 135.81 points to 85,626.20 in early trade, while the Nifty was down 25.75 points to 26,302.80.
Foreign institutional investors turned net buyers, picking up equities worth Rs 289.80 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
The latest RBI data released on Friday showed India's forex reserves jumped by USD 3.293 billion to USD 696.61 billion in the week to December 26. The overall kitty had increased by USD 4.368 billion to USD 693.318 billion in the previous reporting week.
