Classy Root and Brook grind Aussies down

England dig in after early fall of wickets

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England's Harry Brook hits a shot on day one of the fifth Ashes Test match against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

(AFP)

Joe Root and Harry Brook tamed Australia’s all-pace attack with an unbroken 154-run stand yesterday to rescue England and give them the upper hand after a rain-hit day one of the fifth and final Ashes Test.

Batting after skipper Ben Stokes won the toss at a sold-out Sydney Cricket Ground, they steered the tourists to 211-3 when bad light forced the players from the field just before tea.

Subsequent rain and the risk of lightning made no further play possible, with stumps called an hour early.

Root was not out 72 and Brook on 78 after coming together with England tottering at 57-3 following the wickets of Ben Duckett (27), Zak Crawley (16) and Jacob Bethell (10) before lunch.

The world’s top two-ranked batsmen set about counterattacking on a decent batting pitch providing little movement for the bowlers.

Both brought up hard-fought half-centuries and, with dark storm clouds looming, kept the scoreboard ticking over at a fast clip.