Will Jacks took one of the great Ashes catches to lift England but five other chances went down on a sloppy day that handed control of the second Test to Australia.
The tourists were guilty of haphazard bowling and messy handling errors at the Gabba as they allowed their rivals to move into a 44-run lead at 378 for six on the second night of this floodlit match.
Stuart Broad labelled his former team’s initial efforts with the ball “an absolute disaster” on Channel 7 and when the chances did come, England fluffed their lines too often.
Wicketkeeper Jamie Smith let an early one slip through his gloves, Ben Duckett bungled two opportunities at gully and Brydon Carse lost sight of the pink ball late on as he juggled a simple take. Joe Root added to the tally but his was a half-chance in the cordon.
Jacks put all of those efforts in sharp focus with a staggering moment of inspiration midway through the closing session, swiping a once-in-hundred one-handed effort to dismiss linchpin Steve Smith.
His outrageous leap at backward square saw Stokes hurl his England cap high into the Brisbane night in celebration but it was not quite enough to drag Australia down.
It was the second of three wickets in seven overs, Carse yorking a hopelessly out of position Cameron Green just before and Stokes cleaning up Josh Inglis with a cracker as his side doubled their day’s bounty in half an hour.
But much of the damage had been done, with Jake Weatherald’s 72, Marnus Labuschagne’s 65 and Smith’s hard-bitten 61 taking big chunks out of England’s 334 all out.
The full tale of missed chances saw Travis Head reprieved on three, Alex Carey on nought and 25, Josh Inglis on 21 and Michael Neser on six. A sharp improvement, in consistency of bowling and quality of catching, is needed to keep the deficit down to a manageable level.
England’s innings was wrapped up inside 10 minutes, Jofra Archer last man out for 38 courtesy of a brilliant diving take at fine-leg from Labuschagne.
That ensured Root’s first century on Australian soil was an unbeaten one, as he finished 138 not out.
England coughed up 130 runs in 21 overs before tea as Archer’s best delivery took Head’s edge and sailed high to Jamie Smith but was parried to the floor.
Head added 30 more before perishing to a skier but Australia took charge as Gus Atkinson struggled to find top speed, Carse lost his length and Stokes searched for swing that never came.
The afternoon session brought two for 98 – Weatherald pinned lbw by Archer’s yorker and Labuschagne cramped for room as he nicked Stokes low to Jamie Smith – but Steve Smith, wearing black under-eye strips to combat the glare, was up for the challenge of the twilight period.
He led Green in a 95-run partnership that drained England. When Stokes took out deep third to encourage the drive he saw three boundaries guided straight into the gap and when he set a ring of deep catchers for the bouncer, Green stepped and away slapped Carse for four down the ground.
That over leaked 17, including a top edge for six over Ollie Pope in the backstop position, and all hope looked lost. Then, after 19 joyless overs for the tourists, Australia lost their cool.
Green kicked things off with a dreadful lapse, shuffling outside leg as Carse pulled a double bluff and scattered the stumps with a yorker.
Carey only survived a first-baller thanks to Duckett’s spill at gully. England barely had time to process the miss when Jacks pulled off his moment of sublime inspiration.
Stokes bowled Inglis after another drop but that was their last success as Carey made 46 in 45 balls to build the lead, with one thin edge evading Root’s dive at slip to compound England’s struggle.
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