Joe Root shines as England fight back in the Ashes

Joe Root made Australia pay for dropping him second ball, with a counter-attacking century which transformed day one of the Ashes in Cardiff yesterday.

Root’s seventh Test hundred, from just 118 balls and the fastest ever scored in the first innings of an Ashes series, was the driving force as England recovered from a perilous 43 for three to 343 for seven.

He shared an all-Yorkshire stand of 153 with Gary Ballance (61), and throughout helped England make good on their new commitment to an aggressive game plan as he and Ben Stokes (52) then took further toll of an off-colour Australia attack in a partnership of 84.