England made an encouraging start with bat and ball as they attempted to take control of their must-win Ashes Test at Emirates Old Trafford.
The hosts snapped up Australia’s last two wickets as the tourists bowed out for 317, and recovered well from the early loss of Ben Duckett to reach 61 for one at lunch.
Moeen Ali’s experimental promotion to number three was beginning to pay off, with the all-rounder reeling off five boundaries on his way to 31 not out and Zak Crawley was unbeaten on 26.
The growing sense that the game was unfolding in England’s favour was strengthened when Cameron Green had Crawley lbw, only for ball-tracking to show the ball disappearing past the leg stump.
With plenty of rain forecast over the weekend, the home side know they must move fast to set the game up and land the victory they need to keep the series alive, but after four sessions the building blocks are in place.
They enjoyed the perfect start, hometown hero James Anderson striking with the first ball of the day following 17 wicketless overs on Wednesday.
It was far from his best delivery, served up a fraction full outside off stump, but it got the desired response as Pat Cummins lifted a gentle catch straight to Ben Stokes at point to make it 299 for nine.
Anderson, bowling from the end that bears his name, took the acclaim in what could yet be his last appearance at this ground.
England looked to have wrapped things up in the next over, number 11 Josh Hazlewood fencing Chris Woakes to slip, but the TV umpire called a marginal no-ball as the seamer nudged the line.
Australia cashed in another 17 runs but Woakes’ hopes of a first five-for against Australia were only on pause, Hazlewood clipping to third slip to end the innings.
The English reply began with four off the first delivery, Crawley brushing Starc fine off his hip to keep the cheers coming from the stands.
It was not long before they turned to groans though, Duckett lasting only six balls as he pressed forward and nicked Starc tamely into Alex Carey’s gloves.
That meant an early appearance for Moeen, who promptly threw his hands at the fourth delivery he faced and hit fresh air. Crawley was also bested when he edged Hazlewood just in front of the cordon, but the attacking instincts of the pair began to pay off.
Crawley whipped Hazlewood smartly through midwicket as his timing returned and Moeen hit the boundary ropes four times in eight deliveries as he unfurled a couple of picturesque drives and took his career tally beyond 3,000 Test runs.
Green thought he had Crawley when umpire Joel Wilson raised his finger, but a wise referral spared the opener and brought one of the biggest roars of the day.
Crawley signed off the session with a sweet cover drive off Cummins, leaving Australia with questions to answer in the afternoon.
Head leads Australia to win as new-look England crumble in chase
Travis Head led the way for Australia, setting them on their way to a comfortable 28-run victory over England in their first of three T20Is on Wednesday.
England had salvaged some pride during Australia's late collapse, only to fumble their chance with the bat as they failed to reach their target of 180.
Australia got off to a flying start, with Head hitting 59 off 23 balls, including 30 off Sam Curran in a single over with three fours and three sixes.
Liam Livingstone helped to slow the tide with 3-22, including taking opener Matt Short (41), before the tourists collapsed, losing their last five wickets for 14 runs, with Jofra Archer taking two in two (2-31), to finish 179 all out.
The hosts just could not get going though, as Phil Salt was caught for 20 before Curran (18) and Livingstone (37) both departed in the space of four deliveries to stunt any England progress.
Jordan Cox (17), one of three debutants, had already been dismissed, thanks to Tim David's stunning catch at full stretch, before the lower order slumped to 151 in the final over.
The second T20I takes place on Friday in Cardiff, where England will attempt to force a decider for the final contest on Sunday.
Data Debrief: Unhappy homecoming
Australia have won back-to-back T20Is against England for the first time since February 2018, but the hosts would have expected much better when they saw the target set for them.
Instead, they failed to win a third consecutive T20 match at The Rose Bowl, their longest outright losing streak at the venue in the history of the format.
Southgate in no hurry to return to football after England departure
Gareth Southgate says he is keeping an open mind about what comes next in his career but is in no hurry to rush back into football.
Southgate stepped down as England manager in July, shortly after England's second consecutive European Championship final defeat.
The 54-year-old was in charge of the Three Lions for eight years, leading the team through four major tournaments, while only Walter Winterbottom (139) and Alf Ramsey (113) managed more games for the national team than Southgate (102).
England are still searching for a new permanent manager, with interim head coach Lee Carsley impressing in his first two matches, leading the team to consecutive 2-0 wins over the Republic of Ireland and Finland in the Nations League.
Southgate has been linked with a move to Manchester United as the pressure piles on Erik ten Hag and with a position at UEFA.
However, the former England manager says he is not expecting to step back into football any time soon.
"I've got lots of opportunities, I'm very open-minded to what's next," he told Sky News.
"That might be in football, that might be outside of football. I'm just going to take some time, refresh, recharge and go from there.
"I think at the moment people know that I need to get my energy back."
Southgate led England to their first major tournament final since 1966 at Euro 2020 and helped the team reach their first final on foreign soil in Germany over the summer.
England also became the first team in history to lose consecutive Euros finals, with Southgate the only manager to ever lose two such matches.
However, his 14 wins at major tournaments are the most of any manager in England's history, and he is proud of the work he did during his time in charge.
"I think it was probably the right time for change," he added.
"I don't think you can have regrets. We made decisions with the information we had at the time to try and produce a winning team. I gave the job everything I had.
"We raised expectations and that was important. We needed to put English football back on the map."
Kane not setting limits on England achievements after milestone appearance
Harry Kane insisted the sky is the limit for what he can achieve with England after marking his 100th Three Lions appearance with two goals against Finland.
Kane, who became the 10th England centurion on Tuesday, marked the milestone with a second-half brace after seeing a header ruled out for offside before the break.
The Bayern Munich striker has been directly involved in 85 goals (68 goals and 17 assists) since his England debut in March 2015.
He also netted his 26th and 27th goals at Wembley, the most that any Three Lions player has managed at the iconic venue.
Kane also became the third England player to score on his 100th appearance, after Wayne Rooney (2014) and Bobby Charlton (1970).
Having taken inspiration from Cristiano Ronaldo's 900th career goal ahead of kick-off, Kane has no signs of stopping yet as he eyes 100 goals for his country.
"I try never to set limits on what I can achieve," said Kane. "I know playing in this team, I am going to get chances and, if I get chances, I feel like I can score many goals.
"I am going to keep going as long as I can and who knows what we can achieve? Some of the top players in the world have scored more than I have, so there are targets there to try and achieve."
Kane's double also led England to consecutive victories in the Nations League for the first time since 2018, while helping them maintain their unbeaten record against Finland.
The Three Lions return to Nations League action next month when they welcome Greece to Wembley on October 10, before travelling to Finland three days later.
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