Batting superstar Joe Root finally ended his long-standing drought and cracked his maiden Ashes century in Australia on the first day of the second Test in Brisbane. Despite a stellar performance from Australian pace spearhead Mitchell Starc, the tourists went past 300 runs after Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to bat first.
Joe Root's maiden Test ton in Australia powers England to 325/9
Root remained unbeaten on 135 off 202 balls following an aggressive late assault against the pink ball under the Gabba floodlights, guiding England to a total of 325/9 at the close of play. Contributing significantly to the score was number 11 batter Jofra Archer, who chipped in a handy 32 not out in an unbroken 61-run partnership for the final wicket.
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Mitchell Starc runs riot with fiery six-fer
The start of the innings, however, was disastrous, as Starc reduced England to 5/2 with openers Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope both falling for ducks within four balls. England was rallied by Zak Crawley, who shrugged off his two ducks from the previous Test in Perth to score a valuable 76. Crawley combined with Root in a crucial 117-run partnership. With the two men in command, England reached 98/2 by the tea break during a hot and sunny afternoon and maintained that steady pace, reaching 196/4 by the dinner interval.
England’s hopes of setting a massive first-innings total were largely thwarted by the brilliant Mitchell Starc. The left-arm seamer, who surpassed Wasim Akram as the most prolific left-arm seamer in Tests with 415 dismissals, claimed his third wicket by having Harry Brook caught in the slips for 31. Starc later rattled through the lower order to finish the day with exceptional figures of 6/71. Meanwhile, Australia sprung a surprise selection by dropping Nathan Lyon for the first home Test since 2012, opting instead for Michael Neser in a four-pronged seam attack. With Usman Khawaja out injured, Australian captain Steve Smith confirmed Travis Head, who scored a match-winning 123 in Perth, would open for the hosts, with wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis filling Head’s usual middle-order spot.
For England, they opted against a four-pronged seam attack, picking spin-bowling all-rounder Will Jacks in place of Mark Wood. Australia currently leads the five-Test series 1-0 and maintains a formidable record at the Gabba, where they have not lost to England since 1986.