It was one of the most intense opening days to a Test match in recent memory. The Gabba was like a cauldron, the air as thick as soup, and with the pink ball zipping around for Mitchell Starc as he continued his bulldozing start to the series, the pressure on England felt relentless.
And yet at 8.38pm local time all this melted away as Joe Root tickled Scott Boland fine for four to seal his 40th Test century and – far more notably – his first on Australian soil at the 30th time of asking. Root insisted this tour was never about addressing the gap in his otherwise stellar CV but, even with a cheeky shrug upon doing so, the sense of relief was palpable.
How England needed Root, with Starc’s latest sublime figures of six for 71, plus some more self-inflicted wounds, threatening to derail their Ashes moonshot inside three days. By stumps they had reached 325 for nine from 74 overs with Root 135 not out – a foothold in the match and a pushback more broadly after 11 days of being tarred and feathered since Perth.
That foothold owed plenty to an unbroken 10th-wicket stand worth 61 runs that saw Jofra Archer crash two sixes and a four to reach 32 not out. The tension lifted from Root’s shoulders and fed into this late salvo, as a day that began with the latest new-ball rampage from Starc – and a familiar sense of English dread – ended with a very different complexion overall.
Root was in on the fun here, capping off three sessions and 202 balls of focus by bringing out his famous – occasionally infamous – reverse scoop. Boland was his mark here, Root flipping the bat to send a flash of pink soaring over third man. For the first time all day, a number of Australians in the stands were audibly angry with their side letting things slip.
And to think Root had gambolled out to the middle just 15 minutes into proceedings, England five for two after Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope had been wiped out for the first of four English ducks on the day. Had Steve Smith held on to his edge on two – diving to his left when it was dropping short of first slip – this much-hyped Ashes series would likely have been done.
Most Test hundreds
51 Sachin Tendulkar (India, 1989-2013)
45 Jacques Kallis (South Africa 1995-2013)
41 Ricky Ponting (Australia, 1995-2012)
40 Joe Root (England, 2012-25)
38 Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka, 2000-15)
Most Test hundreds for England
40 Joe Root (2012-25)
33 Alastair Cook (2006-18)
23 Kevin Pietersen (2005-14)
22 Wally Hammond (1927-47), Colin Cowdrey (1954-75), Geoffrey Boycott (1964-82), Ian Bell (2004-15)
21 Andrew Strauss (2004-12)
Roots' runs scored in each country
Australia 1,035 runs at 38.33, 1 x 100
Bangladesh 98 runs at 24.50
England 7,329 runs at 55.52, 24 x 100
India 1,272 runs at 45.42, 3 x 100
New Zealand 1,006 runs at 50.30, 3 x 100
Pakistan 477 runs at 47.70, 1 x 100
South Africa 703 runs at 50.21, 1 x 100
Sri Lanka 655 runs at 65.50, 3 x 100
United Arab Emirates 287 runs at 57.40, 0 x 100
West Indies 824 runs at 51.50, 4 x 100
Zak Crawley deserved credit for his role here, compiling 76 from 93 balls in a stand worth 117 runs for the third wicket alongside Root. After starting the series with a pair, Crawley proved a fair bit here, leaving well and slotting 11 crisp fours when opportunities arose. The dismissal was soft – an under-edged pull off a long hop – but it was an encouraging upturn overall.
Australia had held back Pat Cummins, despite all the pre-match hints of a return. And they had also benched Nathan Lyon for the first time at home in nearly 14 years. With Josh Hazlewood still on the sidelines, and the support cast of Michael Neser and Brendan Doggett a level below, this was a day to cash in on winning the toss, not fritter wickets away.
Most maddening of all was the sight of Harry Brook falling to a wild drive off Starc just two balls into his long-awaited twilight spell. This was a notable scalp for Starc, his 415th wicket to overtake Wasim Akram as the most prolific left-arm seamer in Test history. But with England 176 for three at this stage, the floodlights starting to take over, it was such a poor choice from the vice-captain.
And then there was Stokes, who rode out his reunion with Starc and helped steer his side to 196 for four by the second interval. He and Root had spent more than an hour chiseling out 34 runs in the toughest visibility conditions of the day, only for a misjudged single – and a superb pick up and throw from Josh Inglis at point – to get the Gabba rocking once more.
When Jamie Smith was bowled by Boland for a second-ball duck — a hint of movement exposing a yawning gate — England were teetering on 211 for six. Their insurance policy kicked in here, at least, Will Jacks walking out at number eight and putting on 40 with Root. That said, a reckless drive to slip on 19 when his partner was on 98 was yet another head-scratcher.
As superb as Starc was en route to a second five-wicket haul of the series, likewise Alex Carey with a wicketkeeping clinic capped off by a swirling catch off Gus Atkinson running back, this was Root’s day – a day when the clouds of three unsuccessful tours in the past finally parted. Parking the late dabs until well into his groove, and riding out long periods without scoring a boundary, he had climbed a personal mountain.
Steve Smith was the first to shake Root’s hand, his earlier chance at slip the only true sliding doors moment in the innings (despite a couple of reviews burned trying to atone). It was a lovely moment: one all-time great showing respect to another, about which there can now surely be no doubt.
