Stumps England 211 for 3 (Brook 78*, Root 72*, Neser 1-36) vs Australia
The measured batting of Root and Brook combined with Sydney’s annual sketchy weather means, surely, that this match will last considerably longer than the two-day Tests in Perth and Melbourne.
The ground’s characteristics have changed notably in recent seasons, moving away from its spin-friendly traditions. But by the afternoon, with Root and Brook in complete control, skipper Steven Smith probably wished he could deploy Murphy with Australia’s attack lacking variety.
The trio of frontline quicks each picked up a wicket but allrounder Cameron Green, whose place in the team was under major scrutiny, struggled to hit the right length and finished with 0 for 57 from eight overs.
Brook was mostly circumspect by his standards, but did counter-attack when Green resorted to a short-ball tactic, while Root played in trademark style by scoring heavily behind square on the off side.
England, of course, will have hoped their two lead batters could have mustered such a partnership earlier in the series, but the tourists have started their quest for a second consecutive consolation victory brightly.
Amid sunny and humid morning conditions, a relief with grim weather on the radar, skipper Ben Stokes elected to bat after the coin again fell in his favour. It was perhaps another curious decision given his penchant for bowling first before this tour, which had been the catalyst for England’s victory at the MCG.
His mood would have soured after England’s top-order struggled with the seam movement on a green-tinged surface, losing 3 for 18 by the middle of the first session.
After a hapless series on-field and some embarrassing shenanigans off it, Duckett appeared to be carrying over the momentum from his invaluable second-innings cameo at the MCG. He hit Starc for consecutive boundaries to roll to 27 in 23 balls as he and Zak Crawley appeared on the way towards a blossoming partnership that had never previously reached the eighth over in the series.
Bethell did not open his account until his 15th ball when he cut Starc through backward point for a boundary, but it was respite amid familiar woe for England’s batters.
At this juncture, there were fears of another frantic innings with Cricket Australia’s hierarchy no doubt watching on nervously. But Root and Brook batted sensibly to ensure England stabilised by lunch.
While he removed the monkey on his back after his brilliant ton in Brisbane, Root’s troubles in Australia have mostly remained this series. But this was a golden opportunity to settle in for the long haul despite him almost nicking off on the first delivery.
He nailed his next attempt at his trademark cover drive to get him going, while Brook’s first boundary was unsurprisingly less orthodox after top-edging Boland over the slips.
But Brook was then uncharacteristically restrained in a notable contrast to his madcap 41 in the first-innings at the MCG. Australia’s attack tried to bait him by settling into a length outside off stump but Brook mostly kept his aggressive instincts in check.
He had his eyes set on a belated conversion having made starts in each of his first innings this series and found himself in a nice groove with Root, who after lunch reached 40 for just the second time in the series.
Australia lacked inspiration on a slowing surface and they resorted to a short-ball tactic in the hope that Brook would lose his patience. It almost went to plan when Brook on 45 top-edged Starc into a gap on the leg side before he regrouped to whack Webster for a boundary to bring up a 63-ball half-century.
It followed Root’s half-century off 65 balls as the pair appeared set to bat through the session until the thick clouds started to close in on the ground. Play was halted due to bad light before the weather deteriorated – although it did eventually clear up but stumps was instead called.
England opted against selecting Shoaib Bashir, meaning their first-choice spinner of recent years did not feature in the entire series. Seamer Matthew Potts is making his series debut after replacing Gus Atkinson, who was ruled out with a hamstring injury picked up in the fourth Test.
Tristan Lavalette is a journalist based in Perth