Absolute Ashes: Harmison baffled by ‘skittish’ England star, Bumble blown away by Root’s ‘class’, Crawley shows off new look

The first day of the second Ashes Test is at an end, and it was a strong opening from England.

This second Test is taking place at The Gabba in Brisbane, and it is a day-night contest, meaning a pink ball is used.

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The Gabba is known as the ‘Gabbatoir’ due to England’s pathetic record there, but things are looking much more positive.

Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to bat, and it looked as if we were in for another short England innings after a shambolic start.

Mitchell Starc removed Ollie Pope and Ben Duckett for nothing to leave the visitors on 5-2.

But Zak Crawley and Joe Root rebuilt and hit a record session before Crawley fell after tea, having added 117 to the score with Root.

Harry Brook didn’t seem to be in the mood to hang around and was nearly out to a stumping before slashing at a wild delivery from Starc to write the Australian’s name into the history books as the leading left-arm fast bowler for Test wickets.

Stokes was much more watchful but then got in a mix-up with Root and was run out, while Jamie Smith didn’t last long.

Thankfully, Will Jacks stayed with Root long enough to see him finally score his first Test century in Australia, relieving Matthew Hayden, who had promised to walk around the Melbourne Cricket Ground naked if he didn’t score a ton in this series.

But it was a masterful innings, and once he hit the milestone, he cut loose, with he and Jofra Archer adding 61, leaving England on 325-9 at the close of play.

Here at talkSPORT.com, this is our latest ‘Absolute Ashes’ column, providing all the latest news, views, analysis and moments you may have missed from Australia.

‘Skittish’

While Root and Crawley shone, there weren’t too many others who performed for England with the bat.

One player who had an odd innings was Brook.

He might have scored 31, but he played some bizarre shots and his dismissal was ugly as he slashed at a Starc delivery and sent it straight to Steve Smith.

And Steve Harmison wasn’t impressed.

Speaking on talkSPORT Breakfast, he said: “The innings we talk about being negative, he got 30, but Harry Brook’s innings…

“He is a wonderful player, and he is one of the best players that England have ever produced, and it was a skittish innings – it was frantic.

“Who is speaking to Brook?

“He gets out in the first Starc over after Starc came back when the lights were coming on and put pressure on his captain.”

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‘Toothless’

Starc has been outstanding in the first two Tests of this series, especially without Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.

He has 16 wickets so far, including six in this innings.

The experienced fast bowler has proven to be the only consistent source of wickets for the hosts.

They elected not to pick Nathan Lyon and have Brendan Doggett, Michael Neser, Scott Boland and Cameron Green as their bowling attack alongside Starc.

But Harmy isn’t impressed by the rest of them.

Continuing on talkSPORT Breakfast, he said: “I look at this Australia attack, and if Starc doesn’t get you, then the rest of them are toothless.

“There was a passage in the afternoon where I thought Australia not only bowled poorly, but the body language wasn’t great, and I didn’t think the energy levels were good.

“That is where England could have capitalised a bit more as well.”

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All hail Joe

Amid the carnage and the chaos of the opening day with partners falling, Root was a picture of calmness.

Even he got into the 90s, there weren’t too many dicey moments for the England star.

And David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd was mightily impressed as Root finally scored that century in Australia.

Speaking on White and Jordan, he said: “Joe Root has been sublime.

“He’s had 30 attempts at trying to get a century, and now, he has a century in every country – it shows that he’s a great player.

“That was difficult. It was hard, and he was losing wickets all around him to some daft shots, but he showed what class is and how to play a Test match innings.

“That is how you play a Test match innings, and then, he’s had a little bit of fun with Archer at the end.

“So, he can change gear, but he’s played responsibly.”

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Looks good, Zak

After recording back-to-back ducks in the first Test and being part of some unwanted Test history, Crawley responded with a strong innings.

He played aggressively but not recklessly and scored what could prove to be a vital 76 from 93 balls.

He would have liked to make that century, but that has eased a lot of the pressure on him, and he showed off a new look as well.

We often see Crawley with his blonde hair prominently part of his style, but he’s gone for a very close to shaved head.

You can’t even really tell he’s blonde anymore, but perhaps this is all he needed to show the talent he has.

Obviously, we are joking, but it was great to see Crawley dominate the new ball, and hopefully, there is a century on the way.