Root and Brook steer England to safety as wet weather again ruins record-breaking SCG spectacle

2 months ago 15

Sydney’s notoriously wet early-January weather again put a dampener on day one of the SCG Test, as Joe Root and Harry Brook steered England to relative safety by stumps in front of the biggest cricket crowd at the venue in half a century.

England negotiated their way to 3-211 from 45 overs by the close, thanks to unbeaten knocks of 72 from Root and 78 from Brook against a three-pronged Australian pace attack supported by all-rounders Cam Green and Beau Webster.

The decision not to pick a spinner for the first time in an SCG Test for 140 years did not go smoothly for Australia, with England taking the advantage on day 14 of the series.

Players came from the field at 2.55pm due to bad light - both teams agreed the ball was becoming hard to see - before the covers went on due to showers. Play was eventually called off at 5.01pm.

Considering the attendance on day one was 49,574 - the largest for a Test at the SCG since 53,001 showed up to watch Australia face the West Indies in 1975/76 - it was an anti-climactic end to a day that saw England take honours.

“I could hardly see the ball when I was batting at the end,” Brook said after play. “Me and Rooty just said, ‘it’s so dark out here’. The Aussie boys were saying, ‘Are we going off?’”

Harry Brook in action for England at the SCG on Sunday.

Root and Brook’s unbroken 145-run partnership is England’s highest of the series, eclipsed only by Travis Head and Alex Carey’s 162-run stand in Adelaide.

The next best for England this summer remains Root and Zak Crawley’s 117-run partnership in Brisbane, with this pair still some distance from the 234-run stand between Geoffrey Boycott and Bob Barber at the SCG in 1966.

There was an overwhelming sense of what could be about Root and Brook’s partnership after the pair came together in the middle with their side precariously placed at 3-57 following the wickets of Crawley (16), Ben Duckett (27) and Jacob Bethell (10).

Mitchell Starc (1-53 off 12), Michael Neser (1-36 off 10) and Scott Boland (1-48 off 13) took a wicket apiece in that order, with not an over of spin required. The closest off-spinner Todd Murphy came to getting a bowl was holding Green’s tape measure to mark his run-up before play.

Root and Brook have shown more with the bat than most of their teammates this series. On this day, they played mature, measured innings as Australia spread the field and focused on containment rather than aggression. Bouncer plans to Brook looked promising but ultimately proved fruitless as he cracked a magnificent hook shot for six towards the big screen at the north-east end of the ground.

“It’s been a frustrating series,” said Brook, who had 232 runs at an average of 33.1 for the series coming into this match.

“I’ve been in double figures every innings bar one. It just hasn’t happened this series. It’s not an easy place to come and tour. The surfaces do change every game and throughout the game.

“We’re in very good position. Hopefully, we can make the most of that tomorrow.”

In the 39th over of the day, with the partnership sitting at 124, television cameras cut to England coach Brendon McCullum near the visitors’ dressing room, pen in hand, working through a crossword book.

Scott Boland after dismissing Jacob Bethell at the SCG.

After searching for answers on the field all summer - and finally finding some through patient, old-fashioned Test batting - McCullum appeared to be doing the same on paper.

Caught flicking to the back of the book for help with filling in the blanks, former Australian coach Justin Langer couldn’t help but laugh in the Seven commentary box.

“Come on, Baz, you’re better than that, my friend,” Langer said. “Caught red-handed.”

Crossword clues aside, McCullum’s relaxed demeanour summed up the broader mood of the series.

The intensity and ferocity that defined earlier Tests has diminished since England clawed their way to victory in Melbourne.

Even in the stands, Australian fans appeared more subdued than usual, struggling to summon the same energy when battling for World Test Championship points as they would if cheering a demoralising 5-0 Ashes whitewash.

Despite the light and a rain delay, there was a sense around the ground that a break in play might not be the worst outcome, particularly after the frenetic two-day finish in Melbourne.

From Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, to Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg, to SCG curator Adam Lewis, everyone has a vested interest - for different reasons - in this Test stretching deep into day five.

Going off for bad light in the afternoon felt wrong, but cricket’s quirky rules mean common sense often has to take a back seat.

“As a former player, I dreamed of rain, so I have to be mindful I don’t change my tune too much,” said Australian bowling coach Dan Vettori.

“When conditions are set fair, and it feels like there’s no competitive advantage for either team, it feels like you want to play as much cricket as you can, but we’re also mindful of the rules and regulations.”