Ashes 2017: Steve Smith forced to dig in as Australia drag themselves back on day Joe Root showed his nous

England 302 all out Australia 165-4: Australia's skipper battled to 64 not out at stumps to settle the ship after early wickets threatened to give England the advantage

A fair day for Australia and England; a resoundingly good one for Joe Root. England’s captain has already left his mark on what promises to be a much tighter series than people expected. The first Ashes Test remains finely balanced after two days, but what is already clear is that England have done their homework. They may yet be beaten, but they are unlikely to be outwitted.

It was another attritional day at the Gabba, one that unlike the Kookaburra ball swung both ways at various points. England started serenely with the bat, collapsed to a middling total of 302, and then picked up four cheap Australian wickets to put themselves well in the game. But Steve Smith and Shaun Marsh resisted strongly in the final session, capitalising on an aging ball and tiring limbs. This is already becoming a familiar refrain, but tomorrow’s first hour will be utterly pivotal.

The Australian media may have dubbed England the “Bore-Me Army” after a stoic rather than heroic day one. But with bat and ball, England have so far offered an object lesson in how to play Test cricket in an age of Twenty20 attention spans. Root was exceptional: imaginative fields, strict four-over spells for his fast bowlers, and a constant source of advice and reassurance, even as Smith and Marsh began to hum.

What will have especially pleased him was not so much the fact of the Australian wickets as the manner in which they arrived. In every case, England struck by exposing a specific Australian weakness, whether it was Usman Khawaja’s frailty against spin (lbw to Moeen Ali after just two balls), David Warner’s weird shovel-pull (caught at short mid-wicket to provide Jake Ball with his first Ashes scalp) or Cameron Bancroft’s tendency to close the face (a thin edge off Stuart Broad to give England an early boost).

Adaptation has been one of Root’s maxims since touching down in Australia last month. But two gripping days in, it is England who look like the smarter and more complete side, Australia who look like they have more problems to solve.

Naturally, England have a few of their own. Their crumbling lower order, slipping from 246-4 to 302 all out, has the potential to be a problem. Jonny Bairstow’s demotion to No7, forcing him to chase the ball right from the outset as wickets tumbled around him, is surely not the best use of him. Three half-centuries and no centuries is not a sustainable ratio. And of course, they can join the rest of the international cricketing fraternity in struggling to find an antidote to the world’s No1 batsman.

Starc was ferocious as Australia swept through England's tail (Getty)

Smith was customarily magnificent: not as dominant as usual, perhaps, but all the more impressive for that. Just 10 runs came in the 11 overs after tea, as first James Anderson and then Moeen and Broad successfully dried up the singles with tight lines, tight fields and shrewd variations. Ultimately, though, his perseverance was rewarded. Moeen grew weary. Ball and Chris Woakes were unable to maintain the pressure. And with the much-maligned Marsh making good on his promise at the other end, England will need to do better at turning dots into wickets with the old ball.

It was a hotter day in Brisbane, and a pitch described by Shane Warne as the slowest he has ever encountered here continued to dry out whilst remaining essentially fine for batting. Spin will become an increasingly important part of the game as it goes on, with Nathan Lyon again the most threatening bowler on either side, inspiring a morning collapse that saw England fall around 50 runs short of a par score.

An elongated morning session was turned on its head by a rash shot by Dawid Malan, who had played beautifully for 56 and added 83 with Moeen. He swept Lyon for one to reach his 50, and initially coped well with a bouncer barrage from Mitchell Starc from around the wicket. After a few meaty pulls, however, Starc finally got the bumper right, and Malan’s patience finally ran out. The top edge went straight to Marsh at deep square leg, and Malan swished at the turf in anger as he walked off.

Jake Ball got the crucial wicket of David Warner as Australia's reply started slowly (Getty)

Seven balls later, Moeen played for too much turn and was trapped LBW on the front foot by Lyon. Woakes went for a duck, tempted into an airy drive and bowled through a gate that Lyon himself could have crawled through. And just like that, England had gone from 246-4 to 250-7. The Gabba, sniffing blood, finally came alive.

Fittingly, Australia continued to pepper England’s tail. But even after Bairstow top-edged Cummins straight up into the air, Broad enjoyed a little luck to add some valuable runs. Ball took Lyon for 13 in an over before Warner ended his fun with a smashing catch at leg slip off Starc. Ultimately, 302 was adequate: should have been more, could conceivably have been even fewer.

The stage was set, then, for England’s veteran new-ball pair. And it was striking just how focused Anderson and Broad appeared at the outset, Anderson topping 85mph, Broad touching 88mph as they pounded the turf in search of an early breakthrough. It fell to Broad, gradually dragging Bancroft across his crease and finally hanging out outside off-stump and finding the edge.

James Anderson dismissed Peter Handscomb (Getty)

After eight overs came Root’s first masterstroke. On came Moeen, ripping one past Warner’s edge in his first over, ripping one one past Khawaja’s in his second. The very next ball skidded straight, collecting Khawaja on the pad. Two down.

Woakes was lively at second change, keeping Smith quiet at the start of his innings with a disciplined fifth-stump line. And just as Warner and Smith were beginning to lay the platform, Ball a huge moment. Warner tried to wheel Ball through square leg, was through the shot a fraction late and ended up shovelling it straight to Malan, stationed at short mid-wicket specifically for that shot. England celebrated like lottery winners: a partnership with the potential to win the game had yielded just 29. Warner had scored just two boundaries in 20 overs. It was the bargain of the season.

Handscomb, the quirky Victorian with quick hands and a baseball hitter’s stance, carved a few quick runs before tea. But in the first over of the evening session, Anderson threw him a slightly slower ball, pitched well up and pinging him on the back pad, wedged so far back in his crease it virtually was the leg-stump. Australia were 76-4 at that point, and England were just a couple of wickets away from the tail. Indeed, several wags joked that with Marsh walking in, England were already there.

But success was shortlived as Australia battled back (Getty)

But Marsh was made of strong stuff. He had the wisdom to spend 40 balls simply biding his time, accustoming himself to the pace of the wicket, waiting for the loose delivery. Eventually they began to arrive with greater regularity, allowing him to move into the 20s, then the 30s, and finally 44 not out at stumps. Along the way he survived a proper, old-school Broad LBW review, struck on the thigh pad well outside off-stump.

In a way, granting Broad the review was Root’s only blemish of the day. His fields were well-researched and unfailingly imaginative: a leg slip for the shuffling Smith, a deep point for the boundary-hitting Warner, two men on the drive for Warner against Moeen. The day ended with Broad bowling to a field of three silly mid-offs and two silly mid-ons, almost if they were all trying to get into the same photo. Quirky? Without a doubt. But even as England toiled, they never looked short of ideas.

Skipper Smith led the way for the hosts (Getty)

Still, 18 overs remain before the new ball becomes available and if Smith and Marsh can bat for another couple of hours, Australia have the potential to carve out a match-winning lead. England will put their faith in a hearty dinner, a good night’s rest and the knowledge that they are two good days from breaching Australia’s mightiest fortress.