Ashes 2nd Test Day 1: England save themselves from a disaster of their own making
England were two overs into the second Test and already looking for the fire exit. Mitchell Starc took two wickets in his first five balls, both openers gone for nothing, and the Gabba settled in for another long weekend of English pain. Then Joe Root walked out, ignored the chaos, and played the one innings England had been begging him to deliver on Australian soil for a decade.
Root’s unbeaten 135 off 202 wasn’t loud or flashy. It was stubborn. It was controlled. It was the innings England usually realise they needed five days too late. This time it arrived on Day 1, when the match was threatening to vanish immediately. Zak Crawley’s 76 deserves credit too. For a man averaging thin air in Australia, he looked strangely comfortable. Those two didn’t rebuild England. They rebuilt the entire Test.
Australia’s plan to run a four-prong pace attack looked brilliant early and slightly incomplete later. Starc was excellent all day with 6 for 71 and set the tone instantly. But once the pink ball stopped misbehaving, England found enough breathing room to negotiate the rest. No crisis for Australia, just a reminder that pace alone doesn't always close the deal in Brisbane.
The moment Australia will replay is simple. England nine down. Starc on six wickets. The innings on the edge. And then a 61-run stand between Root and Jofra Archer that felt like a leak turning into a slow drip. Not match-defining. Just irritating. The kind of session that changes momentum without anyone screaming about it.
England finish on 325 for 9, which is somehow both a rescue mission and a decent first innings return. Australia leave the field knowing they had England in trouble twice but didn’t finish either window. No alarms. No emergencies. Just a day where they could have been further ahead than they are.
Day 2 now becomes a measurement of Australia’s discipline. Bat well and the missed chances don’t matter. Bat loosely and England’s recovery suddenly looks significant. Root has already done his job. Australia’s turn
