Joe Root and Harry Brook shared England’s best partnership of the series to put the tourists on top after a storm-hit opening day of the fifth Ashes Test in Sydney.
Root (72nd) and Brook (78th) each scored 154 runs with uninterrupted half-centuries to help England recover from 57-3 at tea to 211-3, but the final session was marred by bad weather.
Root was as calm and collected as ever as he scored a fifty in his 67th Test, but Brook got a little more enthusiastic heading into his 15th century.
Between the two sides, they tamed an Australian attack that was without a specialist spinner at the SCG for the first time since 1888, with Beau Webster preferring off-spin option Todd Murphy.
Fellow all-rounder Cameron Green’s poor performance in the series continued as he was targeted by Root and Brook in particular, conceding 57 runs from the opening eight overs.
England also opted not to name a spinner up front, with Shoaib Bashir once again missing out on the batting depth provided by part-timer Will Jacks, while Matthew Potts was brought on for the injured Gus Atkinson as the only substitute from the victorious Melbourne side.
Ben Stokes won the fourth toss out of five and opted to use the greenish pitch first, which produced a two-day Test match and has proven far more batsman-friendly than the much-maligned MCG track.
However, England’s top order was upended again in the morning session, with Ben Duckett (27) making a good start before heading off ahead of Mitchell Starc (1-53).
Ben Duckett got off to a positive start but was sacked after 27 games by Mitchell Starc
Zak Crawley (16) was pinned LBW by Michael Nether (1-36) soon after, and in the next over Scott Borland (1-48) scored a point with the ball of the day from Jacob Bethell (10), giving the young left-hander the upper hand.
England wobbled to 57-3, but Root and Brook put the tourists out of trouble with a superb century stand before swirling storm clouds signaled an early tea and an early end to the day’s play.
Root survived an early LBW appeal, but Brook suffered a mild scare on both edges before going into the game. But they soon
When Brook pulled away from Stark at No. 45 and landed painfully between three catchers, Brook would have been heartbroken, but he found some rhythm.
Undeterred, Brook was on the hook again late in the afternoon session, this time slamming down a short ball from Green to send him into the stands for six.
Australia were happy for the break, but dim light signaled an early tea and ominous clouds eventually brought a downpour, washing out the night and forcing an early start to day two at 11pm (UK).
Ashes Series in Australia 2025-26
Australia leads with 3 wins and 1 loss in 5 consecutive games
