Pat Cummins celebrates taking the wicket of England opener Haseeb Hameed.Credit:Getty
He had Root playing and missing,then clattered one into his pads,before Root offered an edge to David Warner in the slips and left for a duck,with England 3-11 and looking very much like an outfit whose only brief warm-up was against their B team.
It was the eighth time Hazlewood has dismissed Root in Test cricket,more than any other bowler. Cummins said if Hazlewood had been in between spells when Root appeared,he would have thrown him the ball in quick time.
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“It was just how everything fell but we know that’s a good match up,” Cummins said. If he wasn’t bowling,he wouldn’t have been too far out of the attack before he came back on.”
England had hoped for more Ashes miracles from Ben Stokes this summer and he may yet deliver. But his return to Test cricket was tentative and brief as he first tried to embed himself at the crease,then wandered off for five as Marnus Labuschagne took the catch off the bowling of his captain.
It fell to Ollie Pope and the comparatively stoic Hameed to try to help England limp towards lunch with no more damage on the scorecard. Pope at least looked semi-capable as he showed some intent to move to 17 at the break,with Hameed 25 and England hurting at 4-59.
Later,he said England had fallen into the same trap that has been the downfall of so many teams starting their tours in Brisbane;they played at deliveries they should have left to sail harmless above the bails,while admitting the top order may have been underdone.
“Maybe a bit of both,they bowled very well,” Pope said. “The steepness of the bounce,the pitch felt quite soft,that dragged us into a few shots you don’t always have to play at,I guess,because they are going to go well over the stumps.”
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Cummins jagged Hameed for 25 after lunch,bringing Jos Buttler to the crease. The wicketkeeper was the first English bat to show any real sign of positive intent and scooted along to 39 off 58 deliveries before he gave Starc his second when Carey swallowed another catch.
Cameron Green surprised everyone with his pace,around the 140km/h mark,when he was utilised before and after the lunch break and he completed the task for his captain,snaring Pope for 35 as Hazlewood took the first of two athletic diving catches at fine leg.
Cummins would add Chris Woakes (21),Ollie Robinson (0) and Mark Wood (8) to his tally,giving him five wickets on his captaincy debut before the rain arrived.
With water pooling on the field and then bad light halting play,Australia didn’t get the chance to bat. They will resume under what are likely to be clear skies on Thursday morning and try to put the first Test in a vice grip.
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