Australia

The wicketkeeper has been called up to represent his country for the first time ahead of the first edition of this tournament for five years, with Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) hosting.

Uncapped, English-born Inglis has been tipped to play a key role for Australia and he was thrilled to get the call-up after a stunning run of form in domestic cricket.

"It was pure elation really," he said. "I was in the UK at the time, in The Hundred competition, so to get the call was amazing, gave me a huge boost, I'm just really proud.

"[A perfect tournament] looks like winning the World Cup. When you come to a tournament, your aim is to win, if you're thinking about personal success you're probably in the wrong game.

"I would be more than happy to score zero runs for the tournament and lift the trophy. Everyone wants success but the goal is to lift that trophy.

"There is probably not too much expectation on me so I don't think I can worry about that or the fact that I haven't got the international experience. 

"I've played against a lot of international players in the Blast and The Hundred, I can definitely lean on those. 

"Once you get into the heat of the battle, you just get into it and come back to what's natural to you. If given the opportunity, I'm really looking forward to that."

Inglis is yet to discuss his role with coach Justin Langer but believes he will bat in the middle order if given the chance to play.

He starred in the T20 Blast for Leicestershire this year, scoring the most runs (531) of any player in England's domestic T20 competition. 

Per Stats Perform data, Inglis scored a boundary once every 3.5 balls faced, the third most frequent of any player (min. six innings) in the campaign (behind Alex Hales – 3.2 and Will Jacks – 3.4). 

In that time, he hit 63 fours, a tournament high and almost double the tally of his next best team-mate (Arron Lilley – 32).

Only Hales had a higher strike rate of the top-five run tournament scorers than his 175.8

Asked if his form in England had given him a boost, Inglis added: "Absolutely. It was one of the reasons I was keen to get over there, to play in different conditions and test my game in different conditions. 

"As you see sometimes in the UK, with lots of cricket, the wickets do get a bit tired. 

"So playing on slower wickets over there, I can really take that to the World Cup and playing on some of the slower pitches here."

Inglis has also been a leading performer in the Big Bash League.

In the 2020-21 BBL, Inglis logged an Opta batting dot-ball percentage of just 26.8 per cent. Among players to face at least 60 balls in the most recent edition only Jordan Silk (23.9) had a better rate.

Across the last two BBL campaigns Inglis has the third-highest strike rate (146.6) of the 25 players to score 500+ runs.

Inglis' strength against spin has been cited as a key reason for his selection for the T20 tournament, which gets under way on Sunday with the first round.

"I really enjoy batting against spin," he added. "I see it as a good challenge to score off every ball and try and manipulate the field to where you want to get it.

"It's really good fun, really enjoy it and easier on flatter wickets. We'll see what the conditions will be like here, it's going to be a challenge going up against some of the best spinners in the world."

Australia begin their campaign against South Africa on October 23 in what will be the first match of the Super 12 stage.

Jos Buttler, Mark Wood, Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan and Chris Woakes are finally available to participate again after 14 days in quarantine following their involvement in the T20 World Cup.

Australia's preparations have hardly been smooth. Six players in their squad were involved in the T20 World Cup success in the United Arab Emirates, while Tim Paine resigned as captain due to a sexting scandal before subsequently taking an indefinite break from cricket, meaning he is out of the series.

Pat Cummins, one of the players to lead Australia to glory in the shortest format earlier this month, has taken over as captain.

While poor weather conditions cut England's initial three-day practice match short, Root is hoping a high-intensity meeting with the Lions will set the tone for the Test series, which begins in Brisbane on December 8.

"There's a lot of people that will want to prove things, and will want to show that they deserve an opportunity for that first Test match," Root told reporters.

"This is a really good chance for us to get ahead of things, maybe get ahead of Australia in terms of preparation and game-time ahead of the series, and it would be silly for us to just cosy our way through the four days.

"It's been unusual. Having spent a period of time in quarantine and training within that quarantine phase, and then coming to Brisbane.

"We haven't had that three-day game, as we would have liked, but it was always going to be the case that tomorrow was really the first day as a squad that we would get together, with those World Cup guys joining us.

"So we always knew that this next phase was going to be the most crucial part, in terms of getting tight, getting clear and readying ourselves, and that's going to be the real test for us.

"We want that intensity to be as high as we can, as close to the Test matches as we can, and I expect it to be very competitive," Root added.

"The quality of the players will be there from both teams and, because of the lack of preparation that we've had in that previous three-day game, having that extra bit of flexibility to make sure we can get as many guys what they need throughout these four days is going to be crucial.

"But whether you play those games in your mind a little bit more, visualise a little bit more, it's really important you find different ways of making sure that, when that first ball comes down at the Gabba, we're in the best place possible."

England are looking to regain the urn after a drawn series in 2019 saw Australia retain the Ashes for the first time since 2002-03.

The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc with the 2020 sporting calendar and cricket has not been spared the scheduling headache caused by the outbreak of COVID-19.

Test cricket is set to resume next month with a behind-closed-doors series between England and West Indies.

Pakistan are due to tour England for three Tests and three T20 internationals immediately after, but the confirmation of 10 positive tests for coronavirus among Misbah-ul-Haq's squad has led to concerns over those matches.

Officials said plans to play Pakistan remain on track but there have been some murmurings that Australia, who are due to feature in a rescheduled limited-overs tour of England in September, could be asked to play some red-ball cricket should the matches with Pakistan be curtailed.

Asked about that possibility, Lyon replied with a smile: "It just sounds like England want the Ashes back ASAP!"

Australia's own plans are up in the air, with uncertainty over August's home ODI series with Zimbabwe, while the T20 World Cup – which is slated to take place in the country across October and November – may yet be moved to early next year.

"I've got no idea when we're playing next or when potential tours are or anything," Lyon added.

"There's so many balls up in the air. I'm not qualified to be making any arrangements.

"We know something will come eventually. It's just about getting some really good preparation under our belt."

Lyon has another target in his sights for later in the year, namely gaining revenge on India for Australia's 2018-19 Test-series defeat on home soil.

It was the first time India had won a red-ball series in Australia and Lyon wants to make amends when Virat Kohli's side are back for four Tests, the first of which starts in December.

"You never like losing series or games of cricket for Australia," Lyon said.

"India a couple of years ago, they outplayed us. But we're looking forward to having those guys come here, it's getting up there to the pinnacle series alongside the Ashes.

"They've got a side full of superstars and it's going to be an amazing challenge this Australian summer when they get out here."

The tourists have been comprehensively outplayed over three days at Emirates Old Trafford, watching the hosts pile up a 275-run first-innings lead before being reduced to 113 for four in the evening session.

Their only realistic hope of avoiding defeat lies in the skies, with a dismal weekend weather forecast threatening to drown out the fixture.

A damp draw would be enough for Australia to retain the urn, albeit in the flattest of fashions, but Hazlewood welcomed the prospect.

“It would be great to lose a few overs here and there and make our job a bit easier hanging in there, that’s pretty obvious,” he said.

“I would be very pleased. It is forecast, but the forecast can change all the time. There’s rain around but rain and light plays a big part in cricket and has done forever.

“We’re a long way behind, as you can see on the scoreboard. We’re well behind and it’s easy to see that.”

Hazlewood, who took a five-wicket haul amid an attacking blitz from England, stood firm behind his skipper Pat Cummins after what has surely been the most difficult few days of his tenure.

Cummins has looked reactive and muddled in the field, returned the worst bowling figures of his career (one for 129), misread two catches and got out to the first ball of day two.

“It’s a good learning experience,” said Hazlewood.

“He hasn’t been captain for a long period of time and we’ve probably had the better rub of the green for the whole period he’s been captain. He’ll no doubt sit down with the coaches and go through a few things, but he’s a very quick learner.

“Hopefully it doesn’t happen again but in those positions he is still very calm… nothing flustered at any stage.”

The 42-year-old scored an enterprising 67 from 38 balls as the Windies took an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match T20 series.

The half-century would have come as a relief for the under-pressure batsman who had struggled to make an impact since being recalled to the team.  In eight matches, against Sri Lanka, South Africa, and Australia, Gayle has averaged 12.71, with a combined 89 runs, and has a highest score of 31.  In addition, the batsman has a strike rate of 94.68, well below his career average of 139.71.  In fact, the score was the highest for the player since March 2016. 

“It’s good to be among the runs.  Yes, it’s a relief, any batter who hadn’t been among the runs for quite some time now would definitely want to be back among the runs…but it wouldn’t have been possible without my teammates,” Gayle said.

“He told me that he was backing me to go out there and play the cricket that Chris Gayle is accustomed to playing.  So, getting the backing from my teammates, senior guys like Dwayne Bravo as well, Nicholas Pooran. 

“It gave me goosebumps when Pollard was speaking in the dressing room.  Me being a leader and I used to captain Pollard and I tried to help him excel in his career, now’s he’s the captain and for him to stand up and say ‘hey Chris’ and give me a reminder of how good I am.  It’s fantastic.”

Jadeja scored 44 off 23 balls in Canberra as the tourists posted 161-7 before restricting Australia to 150-7 in response.

KL Rahul had laid some firm foundations as the opener put on a measured 51 to mitigate the early loss of Shikhar Dhawan, who contributed only one run.

The hosts also kept a lid on Virat Kohli, the India captain caught and bowled by Mitchell Swepson for nine.

Jadeja came to the crease with his side 92-5 in the 14th over and bludgeoned five fours and a six to lift India to a solid total.

He was struck on the helmet in the final over by a Mitchell Starc delivery and, though he initially continued, was replaced by concussion substitute Yuzvendra Chahal instead of taking to the field.

Australia's reply looked to be coming along nicely as D'Arcy Short (34) and Aaron Finch (35) put on 56 for the first wicket. 

Hardik Pandya catches ultimately accounted for both, with dangerous duo Glenn Maxwell (2) and Steve Smith (12) unable to stick around for long.

Moises Henriques' 30 off 20 raised hopes of a revival, but some excellent bowling from Thangarasu Natarajan (3-30) and Chahal (3-25) kept Australia at bay.

The sides meet again in Sydney on Sunday in the second game of a three-match series.

Jadeja was named player of the match on his return following knee surgery after taking 5-47 on day one before making 70 with the bat and claiming 2-34 as the tourists folded to 91 all out in their second innings.

Ravichandran Ashwin was the pick of the bowlers with 5-37 on day three, securing a crushing victory for India by an innings and 32 runs at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced after India took a 1-0 lead in the four-match series that Jadeja has been sanctioned for an incident on day one in Nagpur.

An ICC statement said: "India spin bowler Ravindra Jadeja has been fined 25 per cent of his match fee for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct during the first Test against Australia in Nagpur on Thursday.

"Jadeja was found to have breached Article 2.20 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to displaying conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game.

"In addition to this, one demerit point has been added to Jadeja's disciplinary record, for whom it was the first offence in a 24-month period.

"The incident occurred in the 46th over of Australia’s first innings, when Jadeja applied a soothing cream to a swelling on the index finger of his bowling hand without asking for permission to do so from the on-field umpires.

"Jadeja admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by Andy Pycroft of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees, so there was no need for a formal hearing.

"In reaching his decision to sanction the player along with the Level 1 sanction he imposed, the Match Referee was satisfied that the cream was applied to the finger purely for medical purposes. The cream was not applied as an artificial substance to the ball and consequently it did not change the condition of the ball, which would have been in breach of clause 41.3 of the ICC playing conditions – Unfair Play – The Match Ball – Changing its Condition.

"On-field umpires Nitin Menon and Richard Illingworth, third umpire Michael Gough and fourth umpire KN Ananthapadmanabhan levelled the charge."

Jadeja scored a career-best unbeaten 175 and took match figures of 9-87 as India hammered the tourists by an innings and 222 runs in the first Test at the PCA Stadium.

The 33-year-old's exploits moved him above team-mate Ravichandran Ashwin and West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder to top the rankings.

Holder, currently in action in the first Test against England in Antigua, slips to second and Ashwin is third.

Jadeja was named man of the match for a third time in Mohali after tormenting Sri Lanka.

Virat Kohli is up two places to fifth in the batting rankings after making 45 in his 100th Test - and his first since stepping down as India captain.

Australia run machine Marnus Labuschagne remains the top-ranked batsman in the world, with his captain Pat Cummins still the number one bowler.

The opener made 161 as part of a 201-run opening stand with KL Rahul to celebrate a fourth hundred in the longest format.

Virat Kohli was also unbeaten on 100 as India declared on 487-6 before Australia finished 12-3 in reply and surely out of the game with 522 runs required for victory.

In quotes reported by BBC Sport, Jaiswal said: "For me all my centuries are amazing, but this is special because I really wanted to do it against Australia.

"I worked so hard in every practice session, I wanted to score runs here in Australia, so I really enjoyed it.

"I was just playing normally, I always trust in me and believe in me."

Australia's top-order frailties were exposed once more as captain Jasprit Bumrah dismissed debutant Nathan McSweeney for a duck and Marnus Labuschagne (three) before nightwatchman Patrick Cummins (two) fell to Mohammed Siraj in a devastating spell before the close of play.

Josh Hazlewood all but conceded defeat and said the hosts' plan for day four is now to stick at it as long as possible and, ideally, tire out India's quicks ahead of the upcoming Tests.

"I think it's just about the batters sticking to their plans tomorrow, batting some time," he said.

"It's obviously a long series so if we can put some overs into their top quicks, that's one of the goals.

"And if some guys find some form and score 80, 90 or 100, that's probably the positives we can take out of it."

India declared in a dominant position of 487-6 after Jaiswal (161) built on their 172-0 at stumps on day two and former captain Kohli (100 not out) added quick runs with his first century in 16 months coming up during the final hour. 

The tourists then wreaked havoc with the ball in five overs before stumps as captain Jasprit Bumrah dismissed debutant Nathan McSweeney (zero) and Marnus Labuschagne (three) before nightwatchman Cummins (two) fell to Mohammed Siraj with the score at 12, as the hosts trail by 521 runs with seven wickets in hand. 

Earlier in the Test, India had scored 150 batting first before bundling out Australia for 104 in the first innings. 

Jaiswal resumed his innings at 90 on the third day and brought up his century in the first hour before KL Rahul departed for 77 after an opening-wicket partnership of 201. 

The centurion fell as India's third wicket at 313-3 as Australia picked up three wickets in the space of eight runs, but Kohli reached his ton with help from Washington Sundar (29) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (38 not out) as India asserted their dominance. 

Jaiswal (90 not out) and Rahul (62 not out) left India 172-0 at stumps, extending their advantage to 218 runs after the hosts were bowled out for 104. 

Australia resumed on 67-7 but were only able to add 37 runs to their overnight total, with Jasprit Bumrah completing a five-for with the dismissals of Pat Cummins (three) and Alex Carey (21) early on. 

Nathan Lyon followed shortly after, but Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood added 25 from 110 before Starc edged India debutant Harshit Rana (3-48) behind to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant.

After a tentative start to India's chase, Jaiswal and Rahul eventually found their groove, though the former was fortunate to see his attempted drive dropped by Usman Khawaja at second slip when on 51.

Following a first day that saw 17 wickets fall, India's openers were rarely troubled as they cruised through the remainder of the session to give the tourists a comfortable lead. 

Data Debrief: Trouble in Paradise

Only four Tests have been played at the Optus Stadium in Perth and all have been won by Australia, but they face a huge task of maintaining that perfect record.

The hosts' total of 104 runs was also their fourth-lowest score against India in Tests and ninth-lowest at home since 1900.

And while Jaiswal and Rahul will receive plaudits for their showing with the bat, Bumrah starred with the ball. He struck with his opening delivery of the day and has now claimed his 11th five-wicket haul in Tests and ninth outside Asia – the latter stat seeing him equal Kapil Dev's record for India.

Root, like the rest of the United Kingdom, is in lockdown in a measure aimed at limiting the spread of the coronavirus.

With plenty of downtime, Root has started watching the Amazon docuseries 'The Test', which follows the fortunes of Australia's cricket team across eight episodes and culminates in the 2019 Ashes in England.

That series ended in a 2-2 draw, resulting in the tourists retaining the urn, and Root is now even more fired up for the next Ashes between the two countries in 2021-22.

"I resisted watching it for a good while but, having exhausted a lot of the shows I wanted to watch, it has come around," Root said on a conference call with reporters on Monday.

"It has been a good motivator to get back on the bike and incentivise myself.

"It goes without saying that the World Test Championship is very important and each game holds a huge amount of weight as we try and get into that final [scheduled for June 2021]. But a lot of things we do revolve around planning for that Ashes series.

"We have around 17-20 games until we go there and play - if all are played - and we have to use every opportunity to be ready for what those conditions throw at us, what Australia throw at us on and off the field.

"We need to use this time to ready ourselves to do something special because we know how challenging it can be to play there."

England were due to be in Sri Lanka now for a two-Test series, but they returned home as sporting events started to get cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Root's team are due to face West Indies and Pakistan in home Test series in the coming months, though they would appear in doubt too.

There have been reports that the Sri Lanka trip could be rearranged prior to England's five-Test tour of India in 2021 and Root is mindful about burnout for his squad.

"It would be a very tough winter, a huge amount of workload, especially on the multi-format players, but we have had some tough winters in the past and found ways to get through them," he added.

"It would be interesting to see how they would fit it in looking at the schedule right now but if it was to go ahead, we would have to be able to adapt, look at the squad sizes we take over and make sure guys weren't blown out and overworked."

Crawley had walked off at lunch on 71 not out but could only add two more runs to his total before he nicked off to Pat Cummins, bringing a stellar series to an end with a final total of 480 runs.

England captain Ben Stokes followed him back to the pavilion when he picked out Cummins off Todd Murphy to join Ben Duckett in departing for 42.

When Harry Brook edged Josh Hazlewood behind for seven at the Kia Oval, the hosts were on the verge of throwing away a strong morning session where 130 runs were scored for the loss of one wicket.

Root ensured that would not be the case and reached tea on 61 not out after receiving support from Jonny Bairstow, unbeaten on 34, to guide England to 265 for four, a lead of 253 at the end of another run-fuelled afternoon session.

After Australia were all out for 295 from the last ball of day two, Crawley and Duckett walked out to glorious sunshine in south London with a 12-run deficit to wipe out.

England took six balls to move into a lead with Crawley beginning his final innings of the series in the same vein he started this Ashes at Edgbaston, crunching his first delivery through cover for four.

Mitchell Starc was on the receiving end this time and his opening two overs went for 22 runs, more than the 21 Australia had ground out during a pedestrian first hour on Friday.

It continued the culture clash between the two teams as Duckett clipped and cut away for four with ease to put on a fifty stand with Crawley inside nine overs.

Australia did finally make the breakthrough after nearly 90 minutes of play with Starc striking in the first over of his second spell when Duckett’s booming drive got the faintest of edges and, despite an initial not out call, Cummins’ review showed a spike on UltraEdge and the England opener departed for 42.

Stokes entered the fray at three, after Moeen Ali was absent from the field on day two due to his groin injury, but it quickly turned into the Crawley show.

Three runs off a Cummins misfield at mid-off saw Crawley reach his half-century off 61 balls before he swept Murphy for consecutive fours to bring up the fifty partnership before lunch.

Crawley took guard at the start of the afternoon session on 71 but there would be no Ashes hundred on this occasion after he nicked off two runs later, but with his place at the top of the run-scoring charts established.

Root encountered trouble during the early stages of his innings, wearing one on his body before he survived a tight lbw appeal against Hazlewood, with an Australia review showing it was umpire’s call on impact.

It would prove decisive with Root’s trademark ramp shot brought out to hit Mitch Marsh for six and a pull for four off Starc brought up another fifty partnership for England.

At the other end, Stokes had mixed aggression with patience alongside a degree of luck with Starc only able to stumble over the boundary rope after taking a catch at fine leg straight after lunch.

Stokes’ next attempted big shot did prove his downfall though with Cummins picked out at mid-on to give Murphy his first wicket of the day.

Brook followed for seven, although only after smashing Murphy back over his head for six.

Root had already reached fifty by this point but dropped anchor after the arrival of Yorkshire team-mate Bairstow at the crease.

England wicketkeeper Bairstow was happy to adopt the role of counter-punching, smacking five fours to march off for tea on 34 not out with the hosts’ advantage now beyond the 250-mark.

Root has been England’s most dependable batter for several years but since handing over captaincy duties to Ben Stokes, the Yorkshireman has adapted his approach to be in keeping with the ultra-attacking philosophy under his successor and head coach Brendon McCullum.

His strike-rate has skyrocketed in the last 14 Tests, up to 76.35 from a career mark of 54.65 before Stokes took the reins, while Root’s output remains excellent with 1,279 runs at 67.31 in the Bazball era, again a significant improvement from a stellar career average of 50.76 in 131 Tests.

Nicholas, the former Hampshire captain who will serve as the next MCC president from October, believes relinquishing the captaincy last year played a role in unlocking Root 2.0.

Nicholas told the PA news agency: “He’s an amazing man and cricketer actually and I think the ability to keep reinventing himself as a batsman. It’s almost like rock stars do it.

“David Bowie kept reinventing himself, Bruce Springsteen to a degree. There’s a number of them. It’s amazing actually.

“It’s incredible to think that he averages more under Stokes than before Stokes and in itself that tells you that he’s freed up his mind. I think that as a captain, he felt the responsibility heavily.

“By freeing his mind up, he’s a little looser in the shoulders, (has) a looser grip on the bat and therefore everything is more ready to go in the attacking sense.”

Root has risen to the top of the Test batting rankings after swashbuckling innings of 118 not out and 46 in England’s agonising two-wicket defeat in the first LV= Insurance Ashes Test.

His second dig typified his outlook as he outlined his intent on the first ball of the penultimate day by attempting to reverse ramp Pat Cummins.

While he made no contact on that occasion, Root was undeterred and unleashed the same shot off back-to-back deliveries in Scott Boland’s next over, bringing a six then a four.

Root’s blitz came to a premature end after he charged down the pitch to Nathan Lyon and was stumped.

While Nicholas disagreed with the bullish approach, he accepts the England camp may not share the same view.

Nicholas added: “The choice of the reverse scoop first ball of the day, I think that is overdoing the bravado because if you get out, you’re going to feel you’ve let a lot of people down quite unnecessarily.

“If you’re in and you’re seeing it bigger, completely fine, but first ball of the morning against the best fast bowler in the world, there’s no obvious necessity for it.

“(Former England captain) Tony Greig once said ‘it’s a greater crime to get out for 30 or 40 than for nought’. In other words, once you’re in, don’t give it away.

“Does this England team take any reference in that sort of principle at all? Maybe not.

“I noticed when he walked past Stokes who was (the next batter in), Stokes gave him a kind of touch (on the shoulder) and said ‘brilliant mate’, not ‘you clown’.”

The home side were bowled out for a thrill-a-minute 283 on day one, scoring at a frantic pace but burning out in less than 55 overs, with the tourists grinding their way to 115 for two in reply.

Australia, 2-1 up and with the urn already retained, were more than happy to block their way through the first session and shored their position up with some low-risk cricket which takes them one step closer to a first series win on these shores since 2001.

Resuming on 61 for one, they scraped together just 54 runs in 26 overs. Usman Khawaja was still in place at lunch, moving to 47 not out off 152 deliveries, but Marnus Labuschagne was dismissed for nine after chewing through 82 balls.

England had been probing away without success until the pace of Mark Wood finally drew a mistake, Labuschagne edging behind for what should have been a regulation take for wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow.

But he remained static, leaving Root to fling himself into action at first slip and snap up a brilliant one-handed take to his left.

Labuschagne appeared to be unhappy at the fading light levels as he skulked towards the pavilion, but Root’s reactions suggested the thick, grey clouds that lingered over the ground were not too bad.

The arrival of Steve Smith, who reached 13 not out at lunch, picked up Australia’s rate, as he drove James Anderson for consecutive fours to ease past Labuschagne’s score in a fraction of the time.

Anderson endured another demoralising session, wheeling away through a couple of tidy but joyless spells in handy conditions.

The seamer, who turns 41 on Sunday, has picked up just four wickets in four matches this summer and cannot seem to find the edge of the bat despite building up a steady rhythm.

Stuart Broad was the pick of the attack in a first hour that saw just 13 runs off the bat as well as eight byes.

He had Labuschagne playing and missing, went up for an lbw appeal and saw a flick round the corner land a yard in front of leg gully, but ultimately found himself frustrated by the policy of calculated defence.

Khawaja played his role with aplomb, relentlessly eating up time at the crease in bowler-friendly conditions and ending the morning’s play with a rare flourish as he pinged Wood off his pads to the square-leg boundary.

Root’s masterful 118 not out, the 30th ton of his career but a first against the old enemy since 2015, provided the centrepiece on a day of fiercely competitive cricket and outstanding entertainment that bodes well for the summer ahead.

Ben Stokes pulled a rabbit from the hat when he waved Root in at 393 for eight – the earliest declaration in Ashes history after just 78 overs of the match – but his hopes of sniping a late wicket did not materialise.

The renewal of Stuart Broad’s personal duel with David Warner provided some late theatre, but Australia will resume on 14 without loss after surviving the challenge.

The tone was set by the first ball of the series, when Zak Crawley crashed visiting captain Pat Cummins through the covers for four in a bold statement of intent. England went on to score their runs at a fraction more than five-an-over, once unthinkable but fully in keeping with this side’s spirit of adventure.

Crawley’s flowing 61 set the agenda, and repaid a portion of the faith he has been shown during patchy form, while Jonny Bairstow’s first Test innings in 10 months found him in rude health.

He hustled and bustled his way to 78 at exactly a run-a-ball, bossing a stand of 121 with Root and proving the badly broken leg that interrupted his career-best hot streak last summer had not dulled his effectiveness.

But England needed someone to go on, take it deeper and hold the line as Australia repeatedly made timely breakthroughs on an placid pitch. That man was Root.

He may have gone three Ashes series and 16 Tests since he last made a century against the Baggy Greens, but the 32-year-old remains his country’s classiest performer.

Here, he measured his innings to perfection. Arriving at the crease in the 18th over at 92 for two, Root quickly settled into a familiar rhythm as he worked the ball meticulously around the arc between deep third and point.

In the afternoon he eased to his half-century for the fifth time in his last five innings, allowing Harry Brook and Bairstow to press the accelerator at the other end, and in the evening session he finished the job.

Twice he pulled out his audacious reverse ramp, dispatching Scott Boland and then Cummins over his shoulder for six, and he was building to a crescendo when Stokes declared.

England won the toss and, with it, the chance to bat first under sunny skies.

The first ball of the Ashes has acquired a mythology of its own over the years, with the most memorable moments falling in Australia’s favour.

Michael Slater slashing Phil DeFreitas for four in 1994, Steve Harmison serving up a massive wide in 2006 and Mitchell Starc smashing Rory Burns’ leg stump 18 months ago are all etched into the story of this series, and Crawley made a game attempt at joining their ranks.

Offered a modicum of width first up by Cummins, he found the sweet spot of the bat and pounded the ball emphatically to the ropes at extra-cover.

The crowd roared its approval, joined by an England balcony who had seen their fighting talk come to life in a matter of seconds.

Josh Hazlewood, recalled in place of Starc, was welcomed in similar style as Crawley pinged his first delivery to the square-leg boundary, but Ben Duckett made an early exit. One ball after chopping past his stumps he was caught behind in familiar fashion.

Crawley and Ollie Pope refused to be rattled, putting on a bright 70 as they ran hard, played positively and used their feet to confront the bowlers head on.

By contrast, Australia quickly reverted to defensive field placings, piling up the boundary riders in a clear attempt to throttle England’s aggressive game.

Crawley was buoyant. When Nathan Lyon was handed an early look in the 10th over, he pulled out a reverse sweep and clean drive down the ground, before leaving his mark on Boland with some flowing strokes.

Yet the first session ended with Australia back in the hunt at 124 for three, Lyon trapping Pope lbw for 31 and Boland getting one to lift as Crawley gloved the final ball of the session behind.

By then Root had settled quietly into his work and he was happy to sit back and watch Brook’s 32-run cameo at the start of the afternoon.

Brook showed glimmers of his ball-striking prowess, pounding Lyon over extra-cover and clobbering Boland on the charge, before his fun ended in a stroke of misfortune.

Padding away the spinner, he saw the ball loop into the air, hit his leg and dislodge a bail.

Stokes made just one before nicking Hazlewood, but Bairstow kept the tempo up. He and Root produced their latest made-in-Yorkshire stand, Root providing the finesse, while Bairstow scampered greedily for every single and pounded out 12 boundaries.

Both he and Moeen Ali were stumped running down the pitch at Lyon, the latter having heaved Cummins for six over midwicket, but only Stokes’ surprise declaration could bring an end to Root’s magnificent innings.

Archer has been dealing with a troublesome elbow injury and underwent surgery in May, with an "intensive rehabilitation period" planned before he was reassessed.

The pace bowler insisted he would not rush his return but had targeted both the T20 World Cup – which is to be held in the United Arab Emirates and Oman – and the tour of Australia.

Archer will be available for neither, though, despite returning with Sussex last month.

The England and Wales Cricket Board announced on Thursday the player had suffered a recurrence of a stress fracture of his right elbow, confirmed by scans last week.

"In response to these findings, [Archer] has been ruled out for the rest of the year and will miss the current LV= Insurance Test series against India, the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 and the Ashes series in Australia," a statement explained.

"The 26-year-old, who had an operation in May to remove a bone fragment from his elbow, returned to play last month.

"As part of his return-to-bowling programme, he became aware of increasing discomfort in his elbow during matches for Sussex in the Vitality Blast and a 50-over friendly against Oxfordshire.

"The operation is not related to the stress fracture that sidelined the player previously.

"He will now spend time on an extended break from cricket before returning for a medical review in early autumn."

England are already without all-rounder Ben Stokes for their ongoing Test series against India, as he is focusing on his mental wellbeing during an indefinite period away from the sport.

Archer starred alongside Stokes for England at the 2019 Cricket World Cup, taking 20 wickets – tied for the third-most at the tournament – to help the hosts to their first title following a dramatic final.

He was then handed his Test debut against Australia in the Ashes, collecting 22 wickets including a pair of five-fors and career-best figures of 6-45.

Johnson took the wickets of Mohammad Rizwan (16), Sahibzada Farhan (5), Usman Khan (52), Salman Agha (0) and Abbas Afridi (4) as Australia followed up their 29-run win in Thursday's rain-affected opener.

The momentum swung back and forth as both teams' batters struggled on a difficult surface, with Haris Rauf finishing with figures of 4-22 for Pakistan.

No Australia batter managed more than the 32 runs of opener Matthew Short, and they found themselves bundled out for 149, losing their last five wickets for just 53 runs.

However, Pakistan were dropped to 44-4 by the middle of their ninth over, with Johnson clearing up the tourists' captain Rizwan and vice-captain Salman with successive deliveries.

Usman's fine knock of 52 off 38 balls – including four fours and one maximum – dragged Pakistan back into contention, but he was beaten by the pace of another Johnson delivery with four overs remaining. 

Pakistan ultimately needed 16 runs off the final over to level up the series, but their hopes were ended when Rauf was run out following a calamitous mix-up with Irfan Khan (37 not out), which saw both batters almost finish at the bowler's end.

Data Debrief: Australia on a roll

Australia entered this series having won just one of their last four bilateral T20I series against Pakistan, triumphing 2-0 in 2019 but losing the other three.

Regardless of the outcome of Monday's third match in Tasmania, the hosts have backed up that triumph, extending their unbeaten run across all men's T20I series to five (four wins, one draw). 

They last enjoyed a streak of this length between November 2018 and February 2020 (also four wins, one draw).

Australia’s 89-run triumph at Trent Bridge handed them a 4-0 points lead, meaning England have to win at least four and more likely five of the six white-ball matches to prevail in the multi-format series.

The last time England beat Australia when the Ashes was still in the balance was in October 2017 – they also won twice the following month and in July 2019 but those games were effectively dead rubbers.

History might be against them but England head coach Lewis believes many of his players see Australia, the ODI and T20 world champions and Commonwealth Games gold medallists, through a different lens.

“I think the belief has grown,” Lewis said. “We came in with a little bit of unknown and trepidation, not quite sure how things were going to pan out.

“Four or five players reflected to me that one of the biggest things they’ve learned is how close they are to beating this Australia side.

“We played some really exciting cricket across the five days and Australia just did it for a little bit longer and a little bit better. But we’re encouraged by that performance.

“I know it sounds strange when we lost the game but I can really sense the belief in the dressing room that we can win both white-ball series.”

Lewis – who worked briefly as a bowling coach for the England men’s side under Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes – and captain Heather Knight have tried to foster a more proactive mindset in recent months.

Knight lamented England had been “too aggressive” in their pursuit of wickets in Australia’s second innings which ultimately allowed the tourists to get to a total that was out of reach.

“I don’t think (Heather) was too aggressive at all,” Lewis said. “We could have executed our skills better. What happened is the girls just tried too hard, which can happen in games of multi-day cricket.

“Is that the thing that cost us the game? I don’t think so. We said we were going to take the game on at every opportunity and at times you have to absorb pressure from the opposition in long games.

“I couldn’t be happier with the mindset the girls went out to play with.”

England have little time to lick their wounds with the first of three T20s – each worth two points, the same as the three ODIs that follow – at Edgbaston on Saturday evening.

While Lauren Filer made an impression on international debut as her pace troubled Australia’s batters at Nottingham, her inexperience and raw ability means she is unlikely to be included in the T20 squad.

“She’s left a couple of scars on the Australian team,” Lewis said. “I think she’s really well suited to Test cricket – being able to bowl multiple short balls and to have the field a bit more spread.

“You’ve got to remember she’s 22 years old, I don’t know how many games of cricket she’s played, I can’t imagine it’s many more than 20-25 in her professional career.”

Similarly, Tammy Beaumont’s exclusion from the sprint format team – she was dropped last year because of a 108.37 strike-rate – seems set to continue despite a historic double century at the weekend.

However, Lewis added: “She’s moved very much further forward in our thinking. Tammy’s really turning the screw on everyone in this side because she’s pretty vocal that she wants to play T20 cricket.”

Bairstow was left high and dry on 99 not out from just 81 balls as England blazed their way to 592 on day three at Emirates Old Trafford, building on Zak Crawley’s 189-run blitz on Thursday.

That gave them a commanding lead of 275 over their increasingly beleaguered rivals, who made an uncertain 113 for four in reply and now find themselves relying on a poor weekend weather forecast to escape with a draw.

Wood, once again hurdling the 90mph barrier to unsettle the Australians, claimed three for 17 as Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith and Travis Head all succumbed.

Bairstow has had an eventful series – falling victim to a deeply controversial stumping at Lord’s, making some costly wicketkeeping errors and even tussling with a Just Stop Oil protester – but put himself in the thick of things for all the right reasons with an outstanding innings.

England were 67 ahead overnight and 120 in front when he arrived at the crease, but his dominant strokeplay piled on the misery for the Australians.

Despite a ring of boundary riders trying to shut him down he hammered four sixes and 10 fours to carry his side to their highest Ashes total at home since 1985.

Bairstow’s controlled aggression was deserving of a hundred but, after expertly managing the strike for the majority of his time with the tail, he found himself stuck at the non-striker’s end after deciding against a risky second that could have got him there.

Last man James Anderson was trapped lbw by Cameron Green’s next ball, stopping Bairstow in his tracks and making him just the third English batter to finish undefeated on 99.

Sir Geoffrey Boycott (1979) and Alex Tudor (1999) are the only others to suffer that fate, but Bairstow was grinning broadly as he left the pitch.

He has been eyeing a measure of revenge ever since his divisive dismissal in the second Test at Lord’s and helped himself to a healthy portion.

Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood were both on the receiving end of muscular sixes thrashed into the leg-side, but Bairstow would have taken most satisfaction from the pair of furious blows off Pat Cummins, the Australia captain who refused to withdraw the appeal at Lord’s.

Cummins, who has looked bereft of energy and inspiration this week, ended up with figures of one for 129, the worst analysis of his career.

Bairstow also took liberties against fellow wicketkeeper Alex Carey, the man who threw down his stumps to kick off the ‘spirit of cricket’ rumpus in the first place.

In a bid to shield Anderson from the strike, Bairstow charged through for a bye on several occasions despite the ball carrying cleanly through to Carey’s gloves.

To the audible delight of the crowd, Carey repeatedly failed to hit the target from exactly the same range he had done so two games ago.

England’s day started in typically lively fashion, with a morning session that added 122 runs and four wickets to the scoreboard in just 24 overs.

There were half-centuries for Ben Stokes (51) and Harry Brook (61), and some success for Hazlewood, who finished with five for 126 amid the carnage.

Bairstow was afforded a centurion’s ovation as he left the field, the Manchester crowd overlooking the small matter of a missing single, but did not linger over the moment. His mind was already trained on the next job, with 12 overs to bowl before tea.

Wood was brought on for the 10th and needed just two deliveries to have Usman Khawaja caught behind.

Australia began the evening session on 39 for one, and proceeded to cough up more top-order talent on a pitch that was playing true.

David Warner was first for 28, continuing a poor series by steering Woakes back into his stumps with an uncertain poke outside off.

Woakes thought he had Smith for a duck but saw the TV umpire rule in the batter’s favour when assessing an uncertain slip catch. It looked an extremely close call but the indifferent reaction of the catcher, Joe Root, might have settled it.

In the end it took Wood’s hostility to keep England on the front foot. After bowling just three overs out of the first 28, he returned for a final blast and took Smith and Head with him.

Smith gloved a catch down leg, clearly hurried by the speed, and Head got into an awful position as he fended a rapid bouncer away from his chest and straight to Ben Duckett at gully.