Joe Root doubles over in pain after being hit by a delivery from Mitchell Starc late on Sunday.Credit:Getty Images
Edging Mitchell Starc’s final ball of the day to Alex Carey,Root had to cope with the thought that four years on from his first attempt,England’s current Ashes campaign Down Under was going even worse,despite his own imperious batting displays this year.
Consolation that arrived through England’s hard fight to reach the final session of the match was of the minor variety:the tourists were just as far back in the game as Buttler was in his crease to be out hit wicket as one of Jhye Richardson’s five victims.
As galling as anything for Root was the fact that England made many of the same mistakes here as they had done four years ago. Bowling too short until the game was all but gone,and batting without enough discipline.
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“The reason it’s disappointing is because we made the same mistakes,” Root said at the presentation. “I think we could have bowled a lot fuller ... we weren’t brave enough at times to get the ball up there and get them driving.
“You’re looking at half a metre at times,and one thing you look at when you’re in the moment and see the amount of times they play and miss and we beat the bat again,it can be frustrating and you feel like you’re doing the right thing.
“But you just have to be that little bit braver,get the ball up there,and accept that every now and again we’re going to get driven.”