Root’s first century in Australia gives England edge as Starc topples Akram

England get an edge on the first day of second Test at the Gabba in Brisbane as Joe Root hits his first century in Australia.Published On 4 Dec 2025England’s Joe Root conquered his final frontier with a first Ashes century in Australia as the tourists pushed past 300 on the first day of the second Test in Brisbane despite a six-wicket haul from pace spearhead Mitchell Starc.Root marched off unbeaten on 135 off 202 balls after a late flogging of the pink ball under the Gabba floodlights on Thursday, with England 325 for nine after captain Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to bat.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Trump’s anti-immigrant policies clash with promised World Cup ‘unity’list 2 of 4Verstappen, Norris, Piastri: F1 revs up for a three-way title showdownlist 3 of 4From paper to plastic balls: The complete guide to FIFA World Cup 2026 drawlist 4 of 4Report finds widespread police failings over UK’s Hillsborough disasterend of listNumber 11 batter Jofra Archer chipped in a handy 32 not out in an unbroken 61-run partnership for the final wicket, while Zak Crawley shrugged off a pair of ducks from Perth to score a valuable 76.Crawley combined with Root in a 117-run partnership to rally England after Starc reduced them to five for two in a disastrous start, with opener Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope falling for ducks in the space of four balls.“Joe keeps it simple, he just focuses on what runs needed to be scored on the day,” Crawley told TNT Sports.“He is the best player I have ever played with or against.”With Root and Crawley in command, England went to tea at 98 for two during a hot and sunny afternoon, and made the same again in the twilight session to be 196 for four at dinner.But their hopes of piling up a huge total were thwarted by the brilliant Starc, who surpassed Wasim Akram as the most prolific left-arm seamer in Tests with 415 dismissals when he captured his third wicket, having Harry Brook caught in the slips for 31.“It was a big gap after the first game, I felt calm today though, and managed to settle the nerves,” added Crawley, who got a pair in the first Test.