England 211-3 as bad light stops play in final Ashes Test

Joe Root and Harry Brook shared a 154-run partnership to guide England to 211-3 before bad light stopped play on Day 1 of the final Ashes Test, which featured an emotional on-field tribute for the Bondi terror victims and first responders. Root and Brook joined when the tourists were at a perilous 57-3 on Sunday and rallied England through the middle session before bad light and rain stopped play just before tea and prevented the match from resuming after the interval.

At stumps Root was unbeaten on 72 and Brook was 78 not out, sharing England’s best partnership of the five-test series. Australia has already retained the Ashes with wins in the first three tests. The duo raised their half-centuries within the same over that their stand hit triple figures as England took control on a pitch that didn’t appear to offer too much assistance for Australia’s bowlers.

 Root made his 67th test fifty off 65 balls with seven boundaries, while Brook completed his 15th half-century from 63 balls in more streaky fashion, with some big shots narrowly avoiding the catching fielders and frustrating the hosts. “I’ve just got to be a little bit more patient and take my ones here and there,” Brook said. “It’s just about staying in my own bubble really and not getting too far ahead.”

Triple strike:  England lost three wickets in quick succession midway through the morning session after Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley had got the tourists away to a swift start after England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and chose to bat. Mitchell Starc ended their partnership at 35 when he teased an edge from Duckett (27) through to wicketkeeper Alex Carey for his 27th wicket of the series.

 Australia then got two wickets in eight balls with Michael Neser trapping Crawley (16) lbw and then Scott Boland sending Jacob Bethell (10) on his way with a trademark ball that nipped off the seam and caught the edge through to Carey.

Heavy security and emotions:  In a rarity at a sporting event in Australia, police with long-arm rifles, mounted police and riot squad officers were on patrol as part of heightened security measures at the sold-out match following the antisemitic terror attack which killed 15 people at nearby Bondi Beach three weeks ago.

Before play commenced, victims of the shootings, first responders and community members were honoured with an on-field tribute, including a guard of honor and a standing ovation from the capacity crowd.

 In strong emotional scenes, the largest roar of the morning was for Ahmed al Ahmed, the shop owner who helped put an end to the rampage of one of the two shooters, as he joined other community members and emergency services on the field. After the standing ovation, Ahmed, along with the others, were each greeted by the Australian team with Usman Khawaja embracing Ahmed, who was wearing a sling to protect the shoulder where he was shot during the attack.

 Khawaja is playing his 88th and final test for Australia after announcing his retirement on Friday. No place for spin:  Australia made one change with allrounder Beau Webster getting his first appearance of the series at the expense of Jhye Richardson. Webster’s recall meant there was no space for spinner Todd Murphy, the first time Australia has not fielded a specialist spinner at the SCG since 1888.

 England called up speedster Matthew Potts after Gus Atkinson was injured during the fourth test. England lost each of the first three tests to allow Australia to retain the Ashes in just 11 days of on-field action. England then won its first Ashes match Down Under since 2011 with a four-wicket win in the Boxing Day test that led to days of sustained criticism about the overly grassed pitch.