Root’s Brilliant First Century Steers England to 325-9

AFP/APP

Brisbane, Australia: Joe Root finally broke his long-standing hoodoo in Australia, scoring his maiden Test century in the country on his fourth Ashes tour to lift England from a disastrous 5-2 to 325-9 at stumps on a gripping opening day of the second Ashes Test in Brisbane on Thursday.

Mitchell Starc made history by becoming the most successful left-arm fast bowler in Test cricket, claiming 6-71. But the day belonged to Root, who crafted a superb unbeaten 135, anchoring the innings through repeated batting collapses.

Number 11 Jofra Archer electrified the visiting supporters with a career-best 32 not out off 26 balls, including two sixes. His unbeaten 61-run last-wicket stand with Root was England’s highest 10th-wicket partnership at the Gabba.

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Root — the world’s top-ranked batsman and second on the all-time Test run-scoring list behind Sachin Tendulkar — had never previously scored a Test hundred in Australia, despite repeated near misses. His century, brought up with a deft leg glance off Scott Boland, put to rest criticism that he lacked a major Ashes milestone on Australian soil.

“Unbelievable day for Joe. He’s had that coming for a long time. I’m chuffed for him,” said opener Zak Crawley, who made 76 in a crucial 117-run third-wicket partnership with Root. “He’s the best player I’ve ever played with or against. A champion bloke.”

Starc, meanwhile, moved to 418 Test wickets, surpassing Pakistan legend Wasim Akram’s 414. “Wasim’s still the pinnacle — he’s still better than me,” Starc said modestly.

England’s early collapse mirrored their first-Test woes, with Starc removing Ben Duckett for a golden duck in his first over and dismissing Ollie Pope in his second to make it 5-2. But Root and Crawley weathered the storm before rebuilding as the pitch settled.

Root later stitched together important stands with Harry Brook (31), Ben Stokes (19) and Will Jacks (19) as England adopted a far more calculated approach than in their heavy defeat in Perth.

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Scott Boland delivered the ball of the day to bowl Jamie Smith for a duck with a sharp in-ducker, sparking a collapse that saw England slump from 210-4 to 211-6. Jacks briefly revived the innings with positive intent before becoming Starc’s victim.

Under the lights, Starc continued to wreak havoc, removing Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse to leave England teetering at 264-9. But Root and Archer counterattacked brilliantly, with Archer launching two towering sixes and Root audaciously reverse-scooping Boland for six over third man.

Players from both sides wore black armbands in honour of former England batsman Robin Smith, who passed away earlier this week.

Australia, who won the first Test inside two days, went into the match without captain Pat Cummins and opted for seamer Michael Neser — leaving out frontline spinner Nathan Lyon for the first time in nearly 14 years in a home Test.

At the close, England walked off buoyed by Root’s landmark innings and Archer’s late fireworks, setting up an intriguing contest heading into day two.