Root and Malan dig in for England at tea in first Ashes Test

BRISBANE: Joe Root and Dawid Malan dug in to give England some badly needed cheer at tea on the third day of the opening Ashes Test against Australia at the Gabba on Friday.

England were 107-2 at the break with skipper Root on 26 and Malan 35, still 171 runs behind.

They lost both openers in the session — Rory Burns failed to add to his lunch score of 13 and Haseeb Hameed was unluckily caught down the leg side for 27.

But Root and Malan looked increasingly comfortable on the third day Gabba pitch as they took England to tea only two wickets down.

Earlier, Travis Head scored a superb 152 to put Australia in a commanding position after their first innings.

Australia were finally dismissed for 425 on Friday, 30 minutes before lunch, a handsome lead of 278.

England then survived a tricky period and went to lunch 23 for no wicket.

Burns, who was out the first ball of the series on Wednesday when clean-bowled by Mitchell Starc, was lucky to survive the dreaded pair when he was adjudged leg-before wicket on Starc’s sixth ball of the first over Friday.

But after reviewing the decision, replays showed the ball was just missing the top of the middle stump, and a relieved Burns survived.

But he didn’t last long after lunch and gloved a ball to wicketkeeper Alex Carey off Australian captain Pat Cummins.

Hameed looked in great touch and eased to 27, but he tried to glance a wide ball from Starc, only to get a faint touch to Carey.

Superb Head

Head, who was controversially selected for the Test ahead of Usman Khawaja, played a magnificent hand.

Read more: Rapid-fire Head grasps Ashes chance with both hands

Coming in with the score at 189-3, Head then saw David Warner and Cameron Green fall in consecutive balls as England tried to stage a fightback.

But Head refused to be tied down and launched a brilliant counterattack, being particularly harsh on England’s left-arm spinner Jack Leach.

After blasting the third-fastest century in Ashes history in the final session on Thursday, Head carried on where he left off on Friday morning, flashing at anything wide and attacking Leach anew.

Head played and missed a number of times, but was rewarded for his stroke play, his 152 coming from only 148 balls, including four massive sixes and 14 boundaries.

Head brought up his 150 with a pullshot through square leg off Leach, whose Test future must surely be in doubt after going for 102 runs in his 13 overs.

England, who scored only 147 runs in their first innings, didn’t help their cause with three dropped catches in the session.

Chris Woakes put down a caught-and-bowled chance, wicketkeeper Jos Buttler couldn’t handle a tough caught behind off Mark Wood and Hameed grassed a chance in the deep, also off Wood’s bowling.

Wood was rewarded for his consistent high pace, taking 3-85, including the wicket of Head, while Ollie Robinson was the most dangerous of the English bowlers with 3-58.

Woakes rounded out a decent effort from the three seamers with figures of 2-76.