Ali Martin celebrates a pair of fine knocks from two special batters in his report from day two of the fifth Ashes Test. We’ll be back with all the analysis shortly, and again tomorrow for the over-by-over fun. See you then …

Joe Root has been speaking with Fox Sports and insists that he was off the field for much of the third session due to cramp in his back. The Sydney centurion adds that after five minutes with the physiotherapist where he “couldn’t get comfortable”, he expects to be back among the action for a critical day three of the fifth Ashes Test.

34th over: Australia 166-2 (Head 91, Neser 1) Head begins the over with a backfoot drive to cover point for one, and Neser ends it with a single to stay on strike for the final over.

33rd over: Australia 164-2 (Head 90, Neser 0) Head again takes an early single to leave Neser to see out the over from Stokes. The Australia opener is thinking about cashing in tomorrow.

32nd over: Australia 163-2 (Head 89, Neser 0) Head picks up a single to point before Tongue lifts his pace with nightwatch Neser still getting his eye in. But the Australia allrounder’s defence is sound as he sees out the over.

30th over: Australia 157-1 (Head 83, Labuschagne 48) Head brings up the 100-run stand – off only 104 balls – with a straight drive for one. Labuschagne plays and misses at a straighter ball as Tongue finds some shape away from the right-hander.

29th over: Australia 155-1 (Head 82, Labuschagne 48) Stokes takes over from Potts and targets Head’s pads. The opener crunches a half volley through cover to the boundary and ends the over clipping off his thigh pad for four more to fine leg. The Australia duo are not happy with the light but it doesn’t seem to be slowing the flow of runs.

28th over: Australia 145-1 (Head 73, Labuschagne 47) Tongue carries on and Head almost lets the first delivery crash into him. The opener looks to the sky perhaps wondering where the sun has gone. Play continues with Head easing a shorter ball away for a single. Labuschagne miscues a pull shot but there is plenty of space around midwicket to pick up two runs.

27th over: Australia 142-1 (Head 72, Labuschagne 45) Potts continues but the Australia pair are having little trouble handling the Ashes debutant. Head smacks a boundary through point then punishes a half volley in his sweet spot for three. Labuschagne gets in on the fund with a square drive to the rope.

26th over: Australia 131-1 (Head 65, Labuschagne 41) Tongue returns with the Australia innings drifting along at the moment. Labuschagne and Head each pick up an easy single as there are signs that England are holding out for stumps. The umpires are checking their light meter more than they should be.

25th over: Australia 129-1 (Head 64, Labuschagne 40) Labuschagne is quietly building a nice knock here at the SCG. He punishes a half volley from Potts through cover to the rope – a stroke that he plays best, like most batters, when in fine touch.

24th over: Australia 123-1 (Head 63, Labuschagne 35) Head takes a single with a half-hearted cut to deep point that takes the opener to 500 runs in the series at an average of better than 62. Root has the next most with 394 at 49.25 and Brook has 316 at 39.50. While those three have been to the crease nine times, Alex Carey has only batted six times for 291 runs at 48.50.

23rd over: Australia 116-1 (Head 62, Labuschagne 29) Potts gets a ball to rise out of the surface and smack Labuschagne on his bottom hand. That struck nothing but thumb! But the No 3 shakes it off, as is his style, and continues batting on without calling on the magic spray. Labuschagne mistimes a drive off the next ball but punishes a shorter delivery with a pull to the rope. Another shake of the right thumb and on he goes. That’s drinks.

22nd over: Australia 112-1 (Head 62, Labuschagne 25) Carse angles the ball into Labuschagne, who has been moving well across his stumps throughout his innings, and raps the batter on the pads. Labuschagne was well down the pitch but England send the decision upstairs where it is shown the ball was tracking well past leg stump. Head casually lifts a shorter ball from Carse over slips for four. This partnership is out to 55 runs from 59 deliveries.

Ollie Benson longs for simpler times as he remembers the master of the commentary craft and rails on those that have come since.

“Seeing all the Richies in the crowd reminds me of how much his [Benaud’s] commentary is missed. I can’t wait to stop listening to Langer, Blewett, Bradshaw et al and their one-eyed commentary. Head flashes at one, gets a thick edge for 4, and fortune favours the brave. Brook does the same and he’s reckless and lacking game awareness. For sure, it’s worked for Head in this series, but their clear bias is so boring. I read with interest that Trevor Bayliss feels the same.”

21st over: Australia 104-1 (Head 58, Labuschagne 23) Potts is back into the attack. The Ashes debutant was too short in his first spell and this time begins by pitching the ball up to Head. The Australia opener sees it coming and smacks a half-volley straight back past Potts for four. Heads finds two more with an effortless cover drive, then a single off a square cut. Labuschagne turns a page in the textbook with his own drive through cover for four.

20th over: Australia 93-1 (Head 51, Labuschagne 18) Labuschagne gets on the front foot to defend a straight ball but is on it too early and almost spoons it back to Carse in his delivery stride. The England quick has shown earlier in the series that he is a good fielder off his own bowling. But this time the ball drops short. Maiden over.

19th over: Australia 93-1 (Head 51, Labuschagne 18) Marnus Labuschagne and Ben Stokes continue their head-to-head battle. After defending soundly the Australia No 3 eases a single to fine leg off the last ball of the over.

18th over: Australia 92-1 (Head 51, Labuschagne 17) FIFTY for Travis Head. The opener brings up the milestone with a crunching drive through cover to the boundary – his ninth four of the innings – and off 55 balls faced. Head has gone on to a century the two other times he has reached fifty in this series.

17th over: Australia 80-1 (Head 42, Labuschagne 14) Labuschagne drives Stokes and is fortunate to pick up two off a leading edge then clips a single wide of leg slip. A classy cover drive from Head races to the rope and the Australia opener follows up next ball with much the same stroke. But it is just a little off time and Carse restricts Head to three more.

OBO regular Gervase Greene raises the topical – and neverending – debate over where Travis Head is best placed in the Australia batting order.

“I note Adam Gilchrist just said on-air that Travis Head had more or less ‘cemented his spot as a Test opener now. While Gilchrist might clearly know a bit about dashers being promoted up the order, I’m still unconvinced.

“Imagine if South Africa or India had Australia at say 4-150, the pitch settled down a bit, the bowlers tiring, and the new ball still 15 overs away. Who do you NOT want to see coming in? Trav. An opener might always go cheaply, even a great one. But batting at 6 or even 7, Trav is a bowler’s worst nightmare.”

Fair points all, and my view probably changes with the Sydney weather at the moment, but for the time being at least I feel like it’s hard enough to find a quality Test opener these days so it would be foolish not to make the most of one. Head is still to prove his worth against a top-class new-ball duo though.

16th over: Australia 69-1 (Head 35, Labuschagne 11) Labuschagne swivels on his front foot and pulls a shorter ball through square leg for four. The No 3 is more concerned with the ball pitching outside off-stump and angled into him.

15th over: Australia 64-1 (Head 35, Labuschagne 6) Ben Stokes continues around the wicket to Travis Head with the ball angled into – and at times across – the left-hander. A leg slip is in place which helps limit Head’s options. Maiden over.

14th over: Australia 64-1 (Head 35, Labuschagne 6) Marnus Labuschagne has been troubled by Josh Tongue ever since the England bowler stepped into the series. He looks more comfortable so far today as he clips a straighter ball off his pads to the rope. The Australia No 3 picks up two more with a drive the stays in the air a little too long as it floats through point. Joe Root waddles off the field with one ball remaining in the over as the centurion is wincing and holding his back.

13th over: Australia 57-1 (Head 34, Labuschagne 0) Ben Stokes gets the breakthrough - yet again - with Weatherald out lbw as the England skipper continues to show his teammates the benefits of pitching the ball up. Carse did it well in Australia’s second innings in Melbourne, but has fallen back into old habits so far today. Marnus Labuschagne is full of energy as he sees out the over.

12th over: Australia 57-0 (Head 34, Weatherald 21) Head waits for the relatively bad ball from Tongue as he needs little width to slice a cut over cover to the rope. That’s drinks.

11th over: Australia 53-0 (Head 30, Weatherald 21) Stokes has, in my view, been England’s most threatening bowler across this Ashes series and has 13 wickets at little more than 21. Head clips an easy single off his pads but Stokes gets the ball to shape away from Weatherald who again plays and misses while defending with a straight bat. The opener flicks a single off his legs but no surprise to see Stokes target both left-handers there.

10th over: Australia 50-0 (Head 29, Weatherald 20) A 50-run partnership comes off the back of contrasting knocks from the opening pair. Head brings it up with a rare loose shot as he square cuts a delivery angled into his body and survives an inside edge that bounces around the stumps. Tongue has Weatherald defending and missing with a straight bat on fourth stump. The lights are on at the SCG with a storm brewing out in western Sydney while Ben Stokes is warming up.

9th over: Australia 48-0 (Head 28, Weatherald 19) Brydon Carse continues over the wicket to Travis Head who keeps chasing anything targeted outside his off-stump. A delivery off a good length stays low but will worry the batters on both sides even as it drifts around the off-stump. Head lifts a cut shot over point to take off the pressure with a boundary from next to nothing.

8th over: Australia 44-0 (Head 24, Weatherald 19) Josh Tongue takes over from Matthew Potts and immediately troubles Head more than he has been all innings. A fuller delivery crashes into the opener’s pads but the appeal is quickly waved away for heading down leg. Sloppy fielding from Will Jacks sliding into the rope as he throws back the ball hands Weatherald a boundary.

7th over: Australia 39-0 (Head 24, Weatherald 15) DROPPED! Weatherald pulls off his hips and picks out Ben Duckett. The England fielder dives low to his left but grasses a chance that really should have been grasped. Perhaps another life for Weatherald, though only two have truly been there for the taking. Head looks much more comfortable and smashes a fuller ball for three straight down the ground.

6th over: Australia 35-0 (Head 21, Weatherald 14) Weatherald carves a boundary off another cut shot. The opener is all but relying on that same stroke for scoring at the moment. A square cut takes a thick edge and flies over Joe Root in slips who can only get a finger on the ball before it races away to the rope. Weatherald might be using up all his lives at the moment, even while facing the less threatening pace from Potts.

5th over: Australia 26-0 (Head 21, Weatherald 5) Weatherald gets off strike and away from the danger end with a single off an unconvincing pull shot and bottom edge. Carse gives Head far too much room as the Australia opener fires a blazing cut to the rope then resists the temptation to try to do the same with one a little closer to the body.

4th over: Australia 21-0 (Head 17, Weatherald 4) Head shows his fellow leftie just how to play the ball targeted at the body as he thwacks a shorter ball from Potts through square leg to the boundary. That’s easy pickings for Head but Potts digs the next delivery in shorter and on a similar line. Head rocks back but his timing is off a little as he settles for two through midwicket. A wider ball is back of length and crunched through cover for another four, and Head finishes the over on one leg while again pulling away to the rope. A poor over from Potts but let’s put it down to rust.

3rd over: Australia 7-0 (Head 3, Weatherald 4) Weatherald gets off the mark with a square cut close to his body that races away to the rope. England won’t mind the Australia opener attacking the ball in those areas. Carse straightens up his line and Weatherald looks fresh out of ideas as he lets one delivery crash into him and moves late to dodge a shorter ball.

2nd over: Australia 3-0 (Head 3, Weatherald 0) Matthew Potts takes the new ball in his Ashes debut. Head flicks a ball off his hips back in front of the wicket for a couple. A strange shot but it has paid off this time.

1st over: Australia 1-0 (Head 1, Weatherald 0) Brydon Carse immediately finds a bit of movement off the pitch and after Travis Head glances for a single it leaves Jake Weatherald in all sorts. The left-hander begins with a waft outside off-stump, then is rapped on the pads as Carse pitches the ball up ands narrowly outside his leg-stump. An unlikely appeal goes up and Weatherald sets off for an ambitious quick single but is rightly sent back by Head and only survives when the ping at the stumps sails wide. A chaotic start for the opener in his fifth Test who calls for fresh gloves and perhaps something to settle the nerves.

Travis Head and Jake Weatherald wander out from the glorified sheds at the SCG as Byrdon Carse marks out his run to prepare us for what should be a gripping final session. Here we go …

Chris Wright writes in to back Joe Roots efforts in Australia which now tally 1286 Test runs at an average 38.96.

“Joe Root now career-averaging 40 in Australia! It really never was the desert for runs people made it out to be for him, was it? He’d passed 50 nine times before this series, 80 three times. He had just lacked a century … and a win.”

Root now has two tons in Australia, and no reason to think he can’t help make it a pair of Ashes victories as well.

It feels like Australia worked their way back into the contest after taking the new ball when even the clinical Joe Root was limited to 21 runs from the 40 balls he faced in that period.

But that hasn’t doused the enthusiasm of David Banks who writes in from afar.

“Just messaging to say than you for all your work allowing me to follow the Ashes even from North Carolina, a world away from sun drenched Australia. Come on England!”

Travis Head was quick to ask the question as soon as Neser wrapped up the England innings and the players will take an early tea that would normally be another 20 minutes away. The Australia openers won’t mind avoiding the 2-3 overs they would otherwise have had to face, but they are set to have their work cut out when play does resume with the pitch offering more movement as the day has gone on.

97th over: England 383-8 (Root 159, Potts 1) Root clips a single off the first ball of the over and puts all his faith in Potts to see off Green. The England batter ducks under a couple of shorter deliveries and is largely untroubled.

96th over: England 383-8 (Root 159, Potts 1) Michael Neser has the ball doing beautiful things but Matthew Potts is unable to even get a feather on it. Australia will of course be hoping to restrict England to under 400, but there are signs that the conditions are turning more and more in favour of the bowlers. Maiden over.

95th over: England 383-8 (Root 159, Potts 1) Cameron Green finally claims a wicket with a much better over to Carse and then Matthew Potts. The Ashes debutant picks up a single to square leg.

94th over: England 382-7 (Root 159, Carse 1) Michael Neser works away at fifth stump but it will take more than that to remove Joe Root at this stage. The centurion picks up a couple of the back foot then eases singles through midwicket and straighter down the ground.

93rd over: England 378-7 (Root 156, Carse 0) Joe Root continues on his merry way with a trademark glance to fine leg for two runs then a single off the back foot. Brydon Carse sees out four dots from Cameron Green. The fast bowler might have got the memo that England are here to bat for at least most of the afternoon.

Thanks Tanya. And how exciting to have some #proper Test cricket on our hands with an even battle between bat and ball and the former mostly on top for the time being. The Australia quicks have found plenty of movement since taking the new ball but Joe Root looks as calm and composed as he has on distant shores for more than a decade, while Will Jacks was hanging in there bravely until Scott Boland finally got some reward. The coming session and a half is likely to have a huge influence on the outcome of this series finale.

I’ll be guiding us through to stumps. Send me your predictions, thought bubbles and other musings with an email or @martinpegan on Bluesky or X.

91st over: England 374-6 (Root 152, Jacks 27) England have survived the first phase of the new ball. Cameron Green replaces Starc, can he find the control he had just before lunch? Just a single from it.

“Hi Tanya,” Hello Ben Barclay! “Why didn’t Stokes change his batting position to 7th or so to avoid Mitchell Starc?” I think Starc would come on whenever Stokes walked in, though, albeit, not always with the new ball. But it doesn’t feel very Stokes to try and escape the new ball. The players take drinks.

90th over: England 373-6 (Root 151, Jacks 27) Yesterday’s placid pitch is showing occasional spice. Boland gets one to leap from a length into another part of Jacks’ battered body.

88th over: England 365-6 (Root 146, Jacks 22) Boland, face streaked with suncream and sweat, is stretching every sinew. Jacks, who has only done himself good this tour, I think, though at 3am in the morning I can’t promise my memory is correct, is pure concentration. He plays and misses, leaves, is beaten. Rearranges himself and goes again.

87th over: England 365-6 (Root 146, Jacks 22) England doing exactly what we’ve been asking them to do here, seeing off the danger from the new ball. Starc fizzes with danger, but England survive.

Hello there Dave Espley in the Sydney sun.

“I’m sitting just to the left of the huge screen and have noticed something peculiar. The umpire at the Paddington End (not sure who it is, sorry) is standing a good few metres backward of square when the bowling is from the other end. I assume this is a thing now, and with TV deciding run outs and stumpings, there’s no need for him to be level with the crease, and he’s standing there to give himself more time to judge head high wides and is closer to the slips to see if stuff carries? Fair enough.

“Weirdly though, this umpire is also walking in with the fielders as the bowler approaches. Is he having flashbacks to his playing days? I do hope so because I’d pay a lot of money to see him forget himself, dive on the ball if they try a quick single and try and run someone out. Then, presumably, signal for a TV replay as the decision’s got nothing to do with him these days.”

I’m going to throw this umpire question over to the OBO floor.

86th over: England 363-6 (Root 146, Jacks 22) Boland continues Jacks’ doing-over, hitting him squarely on the box, zoning in on his back pad. Boland is interested in an lbw but the umpire says no, and Smith, after consultation, decides not to go for the review.

85th over: England 362-6 (Root 144, Jacks 22) I think I could watch Mitchell Starc bowling every day for the rest of my life. Momentum meets intelligence meets physical perfection. Here he torments Root and Jacks – who gets squared up to the fifth ball and is hit by the last. But England press on.

84th over: England 361-6 (Root 144, Jacks 22) There’s a lunchtime buzz of noise around the SCG as Boland bounds in. Jacks puts his stamp on the first and sends it reeling through backward point for four.

83rd over: England 351-6 (Root 144, Jacks 18) Starc gets into his work. Teases Jacks with a wide one, then induces a leaden booted drive and miss. Jacks tucks four off his hips, that’ll do nicely.

82nd over: England 351-6 (Root 143, Jacks 13) Boland has found some nip off the pitch. Jacks defends or ignores. The flags on top of the beautiul green roof on the pavilion are softly billowing,

80th over: England 347-6 (Root 139, Jacks 13) Four runs from Webster’s off spring, and here comes the new ball and that man with the fat white wrist bands.

“I don’t really understand how Steve Finn (who I think usually excellent on the mic) sees a 50 over old ball jump, jag and take the edge of Ben Stokes’ bat and still describe it as a very good pitch,” writes Gary Naylor. “It doesn’t need to offer help every ball, but if enough misbehave, it’s in no way a very good pitch (for batting). This talk of 500 is fanciful surely?

Hello Gary Naylor! I just heard Alastair Cook say he thinks the ten o’clock rather than the 10.30 start means there was more help for the bowlers early on so that explains some of it. Definitely some balls keeping low just before lunch as well too.

And fascinating from Cook, who has noticed that Root emerged from the dressing room early after kybcg. Thinks it is because it is so dark in the changing rooms at the SCG, he has come out into the sun to give his eyes more time to adjust. And here come the players for the afternoon session.

Jamie Smith’s dismissal has irked readers into an email or two. Here are a few:

“Absolutely fewmin (as the kids say) about that Smith dismissal, writes Dave Espley. “Brainless cricket cost us a win in Perth (and a series-changing 1-0 lead) and it seems some of us have learned nothing. I’m a huge fan of Bazball as it’s transformed English cricket largely for the better in the last few years, but Bazball with a brain, please. Brainless Bazball is the worst.”

“That must be the worst Test dismissal I have ever seen. I have no words.” Flabbergasted and tired Reuben from London.

And Rowan Sweeney. “Let’s just all agree to switch bowler and fielder on that one eh? Boland would feel better, Smith would feel better, even Marnus might feel better.

Repeat after me: “Boland serves an absolute jaffa that Smith did well to nick, and Marnus took another blinder”

The bad news from the kitchen is that we have no more filter coffee so I’ve had to resort to the unpalatable coffee bags that my husband likes. While on TNT David Gower in an unbuttoned shirt gets out to Allan Border in highlights reels of 86-87, time to go through the emails.

A morning that belonged to the sublime Joe Root, but may be remembered for a brain fart by Smith. Time for me to grab more coffee, back very shortly.

77th over: England 327-6 (Root 132, Jacks 1) Labuschagne rushes in, an over-eager cocker spaniel bowling bouncers. He oversteps with his final ball, then Root pulls away at the last minute, before pulling a single from the eventual final delivery.

76th over: England 326-6 (Root 131, Jacks 1) Head trundles through an over.

75th over: England 323-6 (Root 129, Jacks 0) Labuschagne, brought in to hustle through the overs and tickle Smith’s ego, does exactly both in one over.

74th over: England 320-5 (Root 128, Smith 45) Eight from Travis Head’s over, including a reverse sweep-turned legit sweep as Root spots the ball drifting merrily down leg.

73rd over: England 312-5 (Root 122, Smith 43) A heat haze shimmers across the pitch. Boland weaves his spell, with the new ball in sight and lunch 15 minutes away.

72nd over: England 310-5 (Root 120, Smith 42) Smith reaches for the ace in his back pocket and calls up Travis Head. In his bounces – three from it.

71st over: England 307-5 (Root 119, Smith 41) Boland is back, and Root rolls him with rich January fruitfulness through mid-0n for three.

70th over: England 299-5 (Root 115, Smith 41) Smith shimmy and whips Webster for four through midwicket first ball, and plays out the rest of the over.

“How old is Michael Neser?” asks James Walsh. “He looks like one of the ripped fifty something men the social media algorithms seem to have decided I wish to ape. Also, do you know why the Australia fans wear KFC buckets upside down on their head? Is it a tribute to the Slash-replacing Guns & Roses guitarist Buckethead or a more subtle reference than I’m capable of identifying? It was quite strange to see a few amid the sea of Benauds.

“Can you tell it’s past my bedtime?” Ha! I see those ripped silver foxes, they are doing “Asian Pilates” with the svelte post menopausal women who haunt me.

69th over: England 299-5 (Root 115, Smith 37) Smith just cannot resist, heaves at Green again and the ball limps over mid on. Flashes at another and edges to deep backward point.

68th over: England 295-5 (Root 114, Smith 34) Time for Webster, earring in his left lobe, who promptly falls over in his delivery stride. Smith is initially watchful of his 125k allsorts. An on-drive is fantastically fielded by Khawaja.

67th over: England 294-5 (Root 113, Smith 34) Green lollops in. He bounces Root, who turns his body into a C and pulls him stylishly for a single.

66th over: England 291-5 (Root 110, Smith 34) A reassuring Root boundary, off his pads, between midwicket and mid off.

65th over: England 286-5 (Root 105, Smith 34) Smith might be a bit all over the place, but he’s gathering handy runs. He tonks Green into the covers for two, then carves him inelegantly over the slips for four more

64th over: England 280-5 (Root 105, Smith 28) Root and Smith warily see through a Neser over. Smith is presently off the pitch, having a bottle of water in the dugout.

Hello Colum Fordham!

“It felt too good to be true to have our best batters set and close to centuries at the SCG. And by goodness, it was. As you said in your preamble, Brook was a bit harum scarum. I suppose the question you might out to him is why didn’t you play with a tad more caution to start with, get the century and maybe 130 odd….And then go beserk. But then it wouldn’t be Harry Brook.
But we still have Root. And hope.

“On the subject of nostalgia, I never got to play with Root but did play against Mike Brearley in an Old Johnians match at Cambridge many moons ago. And I managed to get him out caught off my slightly erratic off-spin.

“It would be lovely if we managed to win this test and make it a relatively palatable 2-3 defeat. But I think both teams will come to rue not having a frontline spinner on this pitch. Bashir may be out of sorts but the only way to restore his confidence is to give him game time. And it would have been nice to see the bespectacled Todd Murphy bowl his excellent off-spin in Lyon’s forced absence.
Enough musings. May the second day unfold.”

62nd over: England 279-5 (Root 105, Smith 27) Jamie Smith is a lucky, lucky boy. He plays a dreadful chip to cover, but is saved by the overstepping of Green’s big boot. Very next ball, he carves the ball between Carey and Webster at first slip. Neither appear to see it. The fifty partnership rolls through in 73 balls.

62nd over: England 273-5 (Root 105, Smith 22) Neser bustles in, like a meticulous village postman. A maiden.

“If England win here,” writes Peter Roy. “Root’s 2/20 win ratio will be identical to Tendulkar’s.”

61st over: England 274-5 (Root 105, Smith 22) Green resumes. Another smart over. Smith has a leaden-footed huge swing… and misses.

Root has moved to third in the Test hundred table – drawing level with Ricky Ponting with 41 Test hundreds.

58th over: England 263-5 (Root 99, Smith 18) A cracking over from Cameron Green, a double-triple bluff with three men out, there was no bouncer for Smith, who continues to look like seasick man trying to march out his nausea. A single takes Root to 99.

Stephen Cottrell, I feel I need to fast forward this email to the top of the pile.

“I’m a Lancs fan living in Surrey.

”I’ve been going to Surrey for 6-7 year. I saw Smith’s first pro ton (batting with Tim David) in the 50 over cop in 2021. In 2023 I was thrilled to see he’d beefed up and could add power to his natural touch game.

”It’s so frustrating to see him just want to hit everything for 6 against good bowlers. Let him do his own thing and he’ll score 6000 runs for England.”

57th over: England 261-5 (Root 98, Smith 17) Neser replaces Boland for his first over of the day. Root starts the over by top-edging a cut over the slips, and is frustrated by good fielding and a ball that keeps low. This pitch is starting to be occasionally capricious.

57th over: England 257-5 (Root 94, Smith 17) Another over for Starc, who must be due a rest. Smith barrels him over mid on for four. In he pounds again, more short stuff. History would say Starc will win this battle. Meanwhile, Root eases into the nineties.

56th over: England 235-5 (Root 89, Smith 11) Smith whips Boland through midwicket for four, with wristy flair, though airily. Boland nearly draws an edge next ball. A stand full of Richie Benaud enthusiasts ooh and aah.

55th over: England 235-5 (Root 88, Smith 7) Smith whisks Starc for six into the crowd over deep backward square. Tries to pull another short one and gets pinged in the grill.

”Grey, drizzly day in Boise, Idaho, matching my mood watching Brook’s dismissal,” writes Tony McKnight. “When the teams came off yesterday afternoon, there had to be the sneaking suspicion that restarting this morning would be difficult. England were clearly on top (despite more ‘no consequences’ batting from the top three), the bowlers were tiring, perhaps for the first time in the series two batters were truly “in.” Had they decided last night to be expansive it would have been well within Test cricket to do so. So the decision to abandon play clearly favored Australia.

“This morning England had to restart with measured authority - which is why Brook’s dismissal today is so disappointing. I guess my point is, that the current regime still doesn’t seem to understand that putting a high price on your wicket isn’t just about your average, or our style of play, it’s about playing for the next batter in. Brooks’ little prod has opened up an end for Australia to attack early in the day and has opened up the game. That’s the consequence.”

54th over: England 235-5 (Root 88, Smith 1) Boland causing all sorts of trouble. Beats Root with one that springs from the pitch, brilliantly taken by Carey; Jamie Smith edges just short of Steve Smith at slip . Root pings four off his pads before being beaten again off the last ball.

53rd over: England 229-5 (Root 83, Smith 0) Make that the third maiden of the innings. Starc, magnificent, a fist full of short stuff to Jamie Smith. The camera pans on Stokes, hair swept back, arms crossed, sucking his lips in the dressing room.

52nd over: England 229-5 (Root 83, Smith 0) A second maiden of the innings, Carey coming up and back from the stumps. Stokes’ dismissal was the fourteenth time Starc has got him out in Test cricket, but Glenn McGrath beats him to the medal for the bowler to have got the same man out the most in one Ashes series – he dismissed Mike Atherton seven times.

51st over: England 229-5 (Root 83, Smith 0) The Starc machine rolls on, Stokes undone once more. England’s run scoring has ground to a halt and the innings faltering.

50th over: England 228-4 (Root 82, Stokes 0) England retrench and take a breath. Just a single for Root from Boland’s over.

Hello there ,Benedict Carter. “Here in Zambia it’s raining and the mosquitoes biting. Have got up to smear some mossie repellent on and am hunched over my phone following along. Hope to see Root score at least 150.” Me too! Hope the mossies are suitable repelled.

49th over: England 227-4 (Root 81, Stokes 0) England forbear an over from Starc.

“Everytime England suffers a drubbing in pursuit of the sacred urn, I satisfy myself with the fact that they are not in fact the real McCoy (the Ashes… not England),” writes Neel Darkshy.

”Some years ago I worked on reconfiguring and extending the home of Ivo Bligh, England captain and proud custodian of not only the Ashes, but also a batting average of one-third of a Crawley.

”The story passed down from generation to generation and on the the new owners was that the maid of the time knocked the urn off the mantelpiece smashing it and replacing the ashes of the original bails with those from the fire.”

A fantastic story! Can it be true?

48th over: England 226-4 (Root 80, Stokes 0) Alas no hundred for Harry Brook, though he did reach his second highest score against Australia. Stokes flashes at his first ball and it squeaks past the outside edge of his ambitious drive.

47th over: England 223-3 (Root 78, Brook 83) Here comes England’s spectre. Brook pulls his first ball, splendidly stopped on the rope by Webster. Pancakes his fifth in a not altogether convincing way, but gets away with it.

46th over: England 217-3 (Root 77, Brook 79) With Brian Draper’s Jerusalem being sung by men in white T-shirts with a printed MCC tie, Root nicks his first ball from Scott Boland for four.

The players are out – here we go!

Time for a very quick coffee, back in five.

“Supporting Joe this morning after realising I was opening batsman for King Ecgbert school in Sheffield which is the same school Joe went to! Only difference is the fact that I was rubbish and he turned into the best batsman in the world!”

Sliding doors Bobby Collick, sliding doors.

Graeme Swann and Cook are dissecting the mystery of Cameron Green: so much potential, they say, but he has lost his mojo. He doesn’t know quite who he supposed to be with either bat or ball. Swann says that his body language is not brimming with confidence either.

England have been warming up with a game of football in their purple practice kit.

Alastair Cook has been casting an eye over Joe Root. “At soon as the sun got on the pitch it got a bit easier. The slowness of the pitch allowed his major scoring shots through the offside. I can’t see how, unless he makes a batsman error, Australian will get him out. I think the odds are in his favour for a hundred.”

Very bold Alastair.

And hello Paul Moody!

“Hi from Brasil, boa noite.

“Too many lows, but still Aussies at home was a hard ask. Dead rubber that this is, maybe it can give a bit of joy.

“I think South Africa look best of all nations now. I’m an expat, living a stereotype beach life here. But still English at my centre.”

The South African women are doing well too. Peculiar when as a nation they’ve thrown so much towards the white-ball game.

“I took my daughters on a minor pilgrimage to the West Sussex village of Felpham today, to visit the cottage where William Blake lived for three years and where he wrote Jerusalem.

“My daughter was a little blank, so I hummed the tune that was put to his words, and rehearsed so religiously by the Barmy Army. “I didn’t know he was a record producer” said my youngest, 15.

“Anyway, it felt like a little connection with the Ashes, half a world away from here. And half a mile down the road from Blake’s cottage, at Middleton on Sea, the cricket ground where my father-in-law tells me he played alongside Mike Brearley and Mike Griffiths, back in the day.

“Ghosts and angels everywhere, and happy reminders of the sheer barmy poetry of it all.”

What a lovely email Brian Draper, thank you. I belatedly learnt today that the fugit in tempus fugit is less flies and more flees. Your email gathers that up beautifully.

It’s minus one here in Manchester, with snow on the ground, due to drift down to minus six by early morning. My tree is drooping but still standing in multi-coloured light gorgeousness, but only it and a panetone are left from Christmas.

Ah, here are the timings for today:

Play commences 10.00am

1st Session 10:00am - 12:30pm

1st Drinks 11:15am

Lunch Break 12.30pm

2nd Session 1:10pm - 3:10pm

Tea Break 3:10pm

Session 3 3:30pm - 5:30pm

Scheduled Stumps 5.30pm

A minimum of 98 overs is scheduled, but an additional 30 mins may be permitted to achieve the minimum overs.