News
Joe Root insists England’s build-up to the day-night Test was sound, despite five dropped catches that left Australia 44 ahead with four wickets in hand at the Gabba.
Australia closed on 378 for 6 after a lively second evening under floodlights. Every miss bar one came once the sun had gone, when the pink ball tends to skid and flicker rather than shine, and Root knows the numbers do not flatter the tourists.
Key moments first
• England 334 all out, Root 117
• Australia 378 for 6, Carey 43, Neser 35
• England shelled five chances, four at night
The chances that got away
Travis Head was reprieved on 3 when Jamie Smith fumbled a regulation take; the left-hander made 33. Ben Duckett then parried Alex Carey at gully and spilled Josh Inglis at slip. Brydon Carse split the webbing on his thumb dropping Michael Neser on 6, and a final slash from Carey flashed between Root and Smith when the keeper might have dived. Carey and Neser put on 49 in 55 balls to rub it in.
Preparation questioned
England picked none of their Test XI for the Lions fixture in Canberra, opting instead for a five-day camp in Brisbane that included two sessions beneath the lights. Critics felt a competitive run-out would have helped, but Root was unmoved.
“We worked as hard as we could in the lead up to this,” he said. “We had five days of prep and we did a huge amount of catching and making sure we utilised those two sessions under lights well.
“You could look at it like that [England could have played in Canberra] but you can’t replicate that surface [at the Gabba], the bounce, the way the nicks come. It’s never going to be exactly the same, it’s never going to be perfect. All you can do is give yourself the best possible chance and I think we’ve done that.”
Root added that the group practised on 3 mm grass to mirror the match strip, faced their own quicks with the pink ball, and rehearsed at dusk. “Sometimes they don’t stick,” he shrugged. “Sometimes they just don’t stick and you’ve got to keep applying yourself and wanting the ball so you’re ready when that next opportunity comes.”
View from the hosts
Opener-for-the-night Head felt England’s work had been thorough enough. “Their bowlers hit good areas and the chances were there,” he said quietly while icing his forearm. “On another evening they grab two of those, the score looks different.”
Jake Weatherald, who posted a maiden fifty, offered similar empathy: “You can do all the drills you like; under lights the pink ball can disappear in the stands. I’ve dropped a few in Shield cricket, it happens to everyone.”
What next?
The tourists need early in-roads on the third morning. A new ball is 11 overs away; grabbing it while the Kookaburra is hard might curb further damage and hand their batters a realistic chase. England have been in this position before. Whether the practice was right or wrong now feels secondary — they simply have to hold on to what comes.
