Australia v England: Ashes second Test, day two – live

Tourists resume on 325-9 after Root century and late burst
Play starts in Brisbane at 2pm local/3pm AEDT/4am GMT
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But if you’re English, Joe Root was the rolled gold star of the opening day. Having closely followed Root’s rise and 13,551 runs since his Test debut in 2012, Barney Ronay was happy to rhapsodise about the Yorkie terrier’s rescue job in Brisbane.

Follow the story, the craft, the jags in the road, the pieces this thing takes out of you along the way. And at the end of it you have one of those great self-contained sporting moments, the sense of emotional connection through all the surrounding hoopla, the way Test cricket in particular can make you feel you know someone intimately just by watching them move and work and fail and come back.

In a series supposed to be defined by Australia’s fast-bowling Big Three, he has done the work as the sole member to make the starting line. With one English wicket left to fall and his tally on six for 46, he was on the brink of the remarkable feat of recording career-best figures for the fourth time in less than 12 months. Continue reading...