Smith questions England's tactics

If England’s day couldn’t get any worse, Steve Smith has lobbed a verbal grenade into the hosts’ dressing room suggesting captain and coach aren’t in sync on a day completely dominated by the visitors.

Australia plundered England’s helpless attack to every corner of the sacred Lord’s outfield, piling up a mammoth 1-337 at stumps thanks to unbeaten centuries from Smith and opening batsman Chris Rogers.

Emboldened with a new aggressive approach following their first Test win in Cardiff, England began the morning with probing lines and attacking fields, including a leg-slip in the first over of the day to Rogers.

But as the benign wicket flattened out and the sun broke through the low-hanging cloud cover, Australia quickly gained the ascendency to leave England captain Alastair Cook scratching his head in search of a breakthrough.

As Smith and Rogers feasted on the local offerings on their way to a record second wicket partnership by an Australian pair at the Home of Cricket, Cook resorted to defending the short square boundaries with a sweeping fielder to the bemusement of the touring vice-captain.

“I was little bit surprised that Trevor Bayliss allowed Alastair Cook to have a deep point for as long as he did today, to be honest," Smith said.

“I think it was a good pitch to bat on.

“They got defensive quite quickly.

“I know that’s one thing we’re certainly not going to do.”

England's bowlers had no answers for Chris Rogers and Steve Smith on a dominant opening day for Australia in the second Ashes Test at Lord's

Since Bayliss was handed the England reins prior to the first Test in the Welsh capital, the former NSW Blues and Sydney Sixers coach preached an aggressive mentality and the freedom for his players to express themselves and play their own way.

The philosophy bore fruit at Sophia Gardens, with England’s fast-scoring mantra outgunning Australia at their own game, and with the opposition under scoreboard pressure, Cook was able to set offensive fields to which his bowlers used to full effect.

But when the pressure was reversed on Thursday, Cook appeared to return to the pre-Bayliss methods of grinding cricket on a slow wicket, hoping for a ball to jag down the pronounced slope or a batsman error. 

Watch: Smith and Rogers relive day one

Australia were left to rue dropping Joe Root on naught only to watch him score a match-winning 134 on the first innings in Cardiff, and Cook can feel the same way when Smith was put down on 51 by Ian Bell at second slip.

Ben Stokes was the unlucky bowler on the morbid Lord’s pitch, leaving James Anderson to defend his captain’s tactics after play on day one. 

“Setting fields on a wicket like that with a fast outfield is always tricky,” Anderson said.

“You’ve got to try to balance attack and defence and figure where you’re going to get the wickets.

“The nicks weren’t carrying so well. We had a few chances that went through the slips, but generally you didn’t feel it was a nick off kind of wicket.

“We tried to create pressure in certain other ways.

“Whether that’s defensive or not, I’m not sure.”

Steve Smith and Chris Rogers shared a record-breaking stand on day one of the second Ashes Test at Lord's (Australia only)

Click above to learn more about how to stream the Ashes and more cricket