Root, Brook Stand Passes 150 as England Reach 211-3

AFP/APP

Sydney: Joe Root and Harry Brook shared an unbroken 154-run partnership on Sunday to rescue England and put the tourists in a strong position at tea on day one of the fifth and final Ashes Test against Australia.

Batting after skipper Ben Stokes won the toss at a sold-out Sydney Cricket Ground, England reached 211-3 when play was halted for bad light, with tea called 10 minutes early. Root was unbeaten on 72, while Brook was not out on 78.

The pair came together with England reeling at 57-3 after the early losses of Ben Duckett (27), Zak Crawley (16) and Jacob Bethell (10) before lunch.

The world’s top two-ranked batsmen counter-attacked on a good batting surface that offered little assistance to the bowlers, who toiled through the second session without success.

Both Root and Brook brought up hard-earned half-centuries and, despite storm clouds gathering, kept the scoreboard moving at a brisk pace.

England entered the match buoyed by a four-wicket victory inside two days in the previous Test in Melbourne. The win ended a 15-year drought in Australia but came too late to save the series, with the hosts already having retained the urn after victories in Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide.

Australia made a surprise selection call by including allrounder Beau Webster in place of quick Jhye Richardson, while off-spinner Todd Murphy was overlooked. It marked the first time in nearly 140 years that Australia have gone into a Sydney Test without a frontline spinner.

England made one change to their side, bringing in seamer Matthew Potts for the injured Gus Atkinson.