Gabba Test roars back into life & how!

Root, Malan lead England fightback and prove Ashes series has long way to go

Mohammed Rumman Khan | NT

After two despairing days at The Gabba, England finally landed some blows of their own to reach 220 for two on the third evening. There was a lesser-spotted sight at the Gabba on Friday: a smiling Englishman. Joe Root looked back to his usual self with the elixir of runs doing wonders for his demeanour. The gloom lifted around Root after two miserable days as he and Dawid Malan passed fifties and halted Australia’s momentum in the first Test, proving England are here to compete.

In doing so, Root set a new record for the most runs by an England batsman in a calendar year, surpassing Michael Vaughan’s 2002 record of 1,481 in one fewer innings when he scored his first single after tea. He battled cramp at the end, the sweltering conditions taking their toll, but reached 86, his best score in Australia for eight years, leaving a seventh of 2021 in sight. Malan is 80 not out and only 58 behind with this pair adding 159 for the third wicket. If only England had survived that wretched first hour on day one, this Test could have unfolded very differently. Despite the fightback, Australia remain on course to win, isn’t it?

Malan is now an experienced campaigner at 34, and with a century in Perth four years ago to his name, clearly thrives on bouncier surfaces. There was one narrow escape here when a ball from Lyon missed his off-bail by less than two centimetres, plus a review for caught behind on 23 that showed nothing on HotSpot despite Australia’s belief to the contrary. But otherwise he held firm, his well-judged recall last summer summed up by one imperious driven four off Pat Cummins that was arguably the shot of the day.

Needless to say that on a day when one brave England supporter successfully proposed to his Australian girlfriend in the stands, the alliance that formed out in the middle was desperately needed.

When Mark Wood speared a yorker into the stumps of Travis Head on 152 in the morning to terminate Australia’s first innings for 452, the first innings deficit of 278 runs looked as sheer as Bengaluru’s Nandi Hills.

Following Head’s swashbuckling century on day two, the equal third-fastest in Ashes history, Australia resumed on 343 for seven in the morning. It was a largely dreary session for England, with paceman Ollie Robinson, who appeared to be nursing a sore hamstring late on day two, still in a funk. Ben Stokes, who bowled nine overs on Thursday and struggled after jarring his left knee, was cleared to bowl and came into the attack some 45 minutes into the session.

Missing tech continues to hamper

Malfunctioning technology has continued to hamper the officials in the opening Ashes Test in Brisbane with the absence of Snicko coming to the fore on the third day.It was centre stage when Australia called for a review in England’s second innings against Dawid Malan, who was on 16, when they thought he had edged Josh Hazlewood. There was a suggestion of a faint mark on the bottom of the bat from Hot Spot but third umpire Paul Wilson did not believe it was sufficient evidence to overturn the on-field not-out decision.It was just one of several instances throughout the first Test where the lack of advanced review technology was sorely missed. The Gabba’s usual system suffered a technical issue prior to the series and, due to Queensland’s border restrictions, support staff were unable to repair it in time for the Test.

Niggling problems for Aus

David Warner did not take the field because of bruised ribs he suffered when batting, off-spinner Nathan Lyon is yet to take a wicket in the match and miles were covered by the pace bowlers with a short turnaround before the start of the second Test.

The pitch is showing some signs of uneven bounce and offering turn, so it can be argued that England’s decision to bat first and include the spin of Jack Leach had some merit. For that plan to work, they needed to bat well on day one, rather than be shot out in two sessions. If England are beaten, it will be because of their first-innings batting. An Australia win is still the favourite, but not as certain as it once was.

Interesting to see how new captain cope under pressure

“We know that this Australia side have cracked under pressure - we saw that against India last year and at Headingley in 2019. This side are getting closer to finding out how they cope under pressure under the new captaincy of Pat Cummins,” said former England captain Alastair Cook.

Big day for both teams

“If we can get one or two wickets before the new ball or if not dry the runs up. If we can get them five or six down before