Blazing ton lifts England as Aussies ‘completely dominated’

A couple of awful doses of misfortune brought Crawley and Root undone, before Harry Brook (14) and Ben Stokes (24) cautiously navigated England to 4-384, and a lead of 67, at stumps.

The English were particularly dominant in the second session, pummelling 178 runs from 25 overs as they charged along at 7.12 runs per over.

Crawley was in lethal touch, striking 21 fours and three sixes and proving particularly effective with his drives.

Root fed off the opener’s energy but was more creative with his strokeplay, even hitting Pat Cummins for four with a reverse scoop to reach his half-century.

Crawley was finally dismissed when he tried to slash a Cameron Green delivery through the off side, only for the ball to catch his bottom edge and crash into the stumps, while Root departed when his stumps were rattled by a Josh Hazlewood delivery that kept incredibly low.

When Crawley’s innings was brought to a close, the Old Trafford crowd rose to its feet as a host of Australians, including Alex Carey, Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith, scurried up to him to offer their congratulations.

The day had begun with England cleaning up Australia’s final two wickets for the loss of just 18 runs, the hosts taking six overs to remove Cummins for one and Hazlewood for four.

“You’ve got to put your hand up and say, ‘Well done and well played to England today’. That was outstanding,” Ricky Ponting said in commentary as Stokes and Brook walked off at stumps.

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“Australia weren’t able to add the overnight runs that they wanted to add to their total, and England have come out and completely dominated with the bat … What a day for Ben Stokes and his men.”

Khawaja dives for top catch

While the Australians were delighted to see Root trudging back to the pavilion, the way in which he was dismissed must have sent a scare through the touring camp.

Going by just how low Hazlewood’s delivery kept, batting on this Manchester pitch over the remainder of the Test will be difficult.

Another problem facing Australia is the fitness of Mitchell Starc, who finished the day’s play off the field after hurting his left shoulder.

During the 65th over of England’s innings, Starc landed awkwardly after diving to save a boundary while fielding at mid-on.

Earlier in the day, the left-arm quick was left clutching at a hamstring after diving for the ball near the boundary.

He showed signs of having an injured hamstring throughout the remainder of the day, particularly when bowling or walking back to the top of his run-up.

The English had to accelerate on day two, given their 2-1 series deficit and the buckets of rain forecast for Manchester over the final three days.

Day three promises more rapid runs from the home side, and another bold declaration from Stokes could follow.

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