NEW DELHI:
Joe Root and
Harry Brook blunted Australia’s all-pace attack with an unbroken 154-run stand on Sunday, rescuing England and putting them in a strong position on a rain-hit opening day of the fifth and final Ashes Test. Batting after skipper Ben Stokes won the toss at a sold-out Sydney Cricket Ground, the pair guided the visitors to 211 for 3 before bad light forced the players off the field just before tea.
Subsequent rain and the threat of lightning meant no further play was possible, with stumps called an hour early.
Root was unbeaten on 72 and Brook on 78 after the duo came together with England struggling at 57 for 3 following the dismissals of Ben Duckett (27), Zak Crawley (16) and Jacob Bethell (10) before lunch.
The world’s top two-ranked batters counter-attacked on a pitch offering little assistance to the bowlers, bringing up hard-fought half-centuries and keeping the scoreboard moving briskly despite dark storm clouds gathering overhead.
"We're in very good position, obviously three down at the end of the end of play," said Brook.
"Hopefully we can make the most of that going into tomorrow.
"It was good pitch," he added.
"When I first went in it felt like the bounce was fairly steep. But then it it started to get a little bit lower and slower and just generally feels like a good wicket."
England entered the match buoyed by a four-wicket win inside two days in the previous Test in Melbourne and were eager to carry forward the momentum. That victory ended a 15-year winless streak in Australia but came too late to save the series, with the hosts having already retained the urn through wins in Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide.
Australia sprung a selection surprise by including all-rounder Beau Webster in place of fast bowler Jhye Richardson, while off-spinner Todd Murphy was overlooked.
It marked the first time in almost 140 years that Australia have gone without a front-line spinner in a Sydney Test.
"Hate doing it," said Australia skipper Steve Smith.
"But if we keep producing wickets that we don't think are going to spin and seam is going to play a big part and cracks are going to play a big part, you kind of get pushed into a corner."
England made one change, bringing in seamer Matthew Potts for the injured Gus Atkinson, with frontline spinner Shoaib Bashir missing out for a fifth straight Test.
The day began with a tribute to first responders following last month’s Bondi mass shooting that claimed 15 lives, drawing loud applause when hero Ahmed Al Ahmed — who tackled one of the gunmen — appeared.
Duckett looked fluent early, hammering five boundaries off Mitchell Starc in a brisk 27 from 24 balls. However, Starc had the final say, inducing an outside edge from an angled delivery that was taken by wicketkeeper Alex Carey at full stretch — the fifth time the left-armer has dismissed Duckett in the series.
Crawley was next to fall, trapped lbw by Michael Neser, leaving England 51 for 2 by the first drinks break.
Bethell endured a tentative stay, taking 15 balls to score his first run before edging a moving delivery from Scott Boland to Carey as England slipped to 57 for 3.
Root then joined Brook at the crease and the pair set about rebuilding. They rotated the strike effectively and punished loose deliveries, with Root bringing up his 67th Test half-century — and the 100-run partnership — with a single off Webster.
Only India great Sachin Tendulkar, with 68, has scored more Test fifties.
Brook enjoyed a slice of luck on 45 when he slogged Starc and the ball landed safely between three converging fielders. He kept his composure thereafter, reaching his 15th Test half-century four balls after Root by cracking Webster through the covers for a boundary.
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