Marcus labuschagne

Before Jofra Archer: England's first-inning centurion Joe Root urged his teammates to "express themselves in the right way" in an attempt to save the second Test of the five-match Ashes series. Hosts Australia took control of the match with a 44-run lead in the Brisbane Test after bowling out England on 334 and later posting 378/6 with Jake Weatherald, Marcus Labuschagne, and stand-in captain Steve Smith scoring fifties.

"It's clear we weren't our best at that phase of the game," Root told TNT Sports at the close. "But the way that we dragged things back, by managing to take those wickets in a cluster, it shows what the nature of this game can be like, especially with the pink ball."

In England's opening innings, Root accomplished just that, finishing undefeated on 138 to score his first Test century in Australia and his 40th overall.