Less than two weeks after being dismissed as a "dud" Down Under, Joe Root finally shrugged the monkey off his back with a first Test century in Australia on Thursday to breathe life into England's Ashes campaign.
Considered one of the modern greats of the game, England's Test captain is yet to play in the cash-rich Twenty20 league, having gone unsold in the 2018 auction. However, all that can change in next year's tournament, which is set to be expanded with the inclusion of two new teams.
England last won the Ashes in 2015 and have not won a series in Australia since 2011 but Root was optimistic about their chances this time around.
Fast bowler Jofra Archer was ruled out of the rest of the Ashes series with a left side strain.
Joe Root continued with his purple patch during the first Ashes Test against Australia at Edgbaston, bringing up his 30th Test century.
Four-Test-old all-rounder Jacob Bethell was awarded his maiden central contract by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) which offered two-year deals to 14 multi-format cricketers, including Test captain Ben Stokes and injury-plagued pacer Jofra Archer.
'You do not progress unless you have some pretty honest and truthful conversations.'
While modern greats like Shubman Gill and Joe Root shy away from batting at No. 3, Nasser Hussain says Cheteshwar Pujara embraced the challenge and carried forward Rahul Dravid's legacy with distinction.
England lost the first three matches in the ongoing Ashes series but chased down 175 to win the fourth by four wickets and score a first Test victory in Australia in 15 years.
England Captain Ben Stokes was involved in a heated on-field exchange with Australia's No.3 Marnus Labuschagne, an incident that drew strong reactions from former players in the commentary box.
Root put forth his desire of being a part of the IPL 2022 mega auction that is expected to take place in February.
England have not won a first Ashes Test in Australia in nearly 40 years, nor beaten the hosts in Perth since 1978.
Statistically, Head's series stands apart. Among all players to score more than 600 runs in a single Ashes, he is the only one to do so at a strike rate north of 75 -- a reflection of how decisively he altered the tempo of games.
The duo is followed by a former Sri Lanka icon, Mahela Jayawardene, with 205 outfield catches in 149 appearances.
England trail 2-0 in the five-Test series after being outplayed with bat, ball and in the field during the eight-wicket loss in the day-night match in Brisbane.
Starc reached his second fifty of the series in 73 balls, striking eight fours, before England finally struck back. Archer ended Lyon's resistance, trapping him plumb in front for 9, and Australia were soon bowled out for 371 in 91.2 overs.
The Perth Stadium curator has promised the wicket will be green, fast and bouncy but Stokes offered no thoughts on whether England would attack with four quicks or pick the specialist spinner, Shoaib Bashir, in their 11.
Root reached into his pocket, pulled out a white headband, and placed it on his forehead. Then, he looked skyward - a powerful and poignant tribute to Graham Thorpe, his late mentor and one of England's most cherished cricketers.
Root described Pujara as a 'fantastic' player.
Their last eight Tests in Perth have all been defeats, with the most recent setback a bitter innings and 41-run capitulation in 2017 that saw Joe Root's team surrender the urn.
England batter Joe Root defended fellow teammate Jamie Smith for his dismissal in the first innings of the final Sydney Test
Australia's Lyon angry at being dropped for second Ashes Test
It was a relieved Ben Stokes bidding good riddance to more than a decade of pain for English cricket in Australia on Saturday as his team rallied from the depths to complete a drought-breaking Test win in Melbourne.
England need to alter their approach if they hope to claw their way back after their disastrous start to the Ashes series and avoid another drubbing, former Australia paceman Mitchell Johnson said.
Joe Root picked an easy single off Mohammed Siraj in the 58th over to take his score to 31, which also took his overall Test tally to 13290 runs.
Harry Brook disagreed with India coach Gautam Gambhir's decision to name him as Player of the Series, saying the honour should have gone to Joe Root
'The tailenders should have looked to bat with Jamie Smith. Really poor from the batters towards the end. The plan should have been to give him the strike and let him do the heavy lifting.'
Root reached the milestone during his 69th WTC appearance - a single pushed to deep backward square leg brought up yet another half-century and sealed his place in the record books.
Australia finished marginally on top at the end of a chaotic opening day of the fourth Ashes Test after an extraordinary 20 wickets fell in front of a record crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday.
India great Virat Kohli continued his push to regain his place as the best ODI batter while moving up to the second spot in the latest ICC rankings released on Wednesday.
The legendary B S Chandrasekhar and Brian Lara on Tuesday won the Lifetime Achievement awards.
At just 14 years old, Suryavanshi is already one of the most talked-about young cricketers in the world, having first made headlines with an electrifying 35-ball century in the Indian Premier League's 2025 season.
England on Tuesday named a 16-man squad for the Ashes series starting in Australia in November with Ben Stokes, who is currently nursing a shoulder injury, set to return to lead the side.
Roger Federer, accompanied by his wife Mirka, was spotted in the Royal Box during the fourth-round match between Novak Djokovic and Alex de Minaur.
England's scoring rate of 2.91 runs per over during the second session was the second-slowest in a home Test in the Bazball era, only behind their 2.72 per over effort against New Zealand at Lord's in 2022.
With two days still to play, England are firm favourites to secure the win in Manchester, one that would seal victory in the five-match series with one test still to come.
'They're all going to score because they are naturally gifted players but the real high-risk way of playing, I'm afraid it hasn't worked.'
Joe Root hit a maiden Test century on his home ground at Headingley and county colleague Jonny Bairstow chipped in with 64 to leave England on top at 337 for seven in the second Test against New Zealand on Saturday.
Greg Chappell said that while he admires positive cricket, a "full-frontal assault" approach is insult to the intelligence of the players and the public alike.
Root said rotation policy is the best they could have asked for under the current circumstances, brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
