Former Australia opener David Warner didn’t hold back in his criticism of Joe Root after the England star fell cheaply once again in the second innings of the opening Ashes Test at Optus Stadium, Perth. Root, dismissed for a duck in the first innings, managed only eight in the second before Mitchell Starc trapped him in the 20th over. Root’s struggles against Starc continued, with the left-arm pacer claiming his wicket in both innings. Each time, Root was lured into playing at deliveries outside off stump—edging to the slips in the first innings and chopping onto his stumps in the second. Starc has now dismissed Root 10 times in Test cricket, against 639 balls, with the right-hander scoring 349 runs at just over a 34 average. England had initially seized control with a 40-run first-innings lead, but their advantage evaporated quickly as Ben Duckett (28), Ollie Pope (33), Harry Brook (0), and Root fell in a flurry. High-risk shots from Pope, Brook, and Root drew sharp criticism from Warner, who labelled England’s ‘Bazball’ approach reckless. “It’s Bazball with no sense, all three to start. Now we want some smarts in the game, and that just isn’t smart, especially from a guy with over 10,000 runs. Trying to create something out of nothing. They’re well ahead of the game, and that passage of play could prove costly,” Warner said while commentating for Fox Cricket. Australia regained the upper hand in the second session on Day 2 thanks to Scott Boland, who took three wickets in just 11 balls—removing Duckett, Pope, and Brook. England were eventually all out for 164 in their second innings, setting Australia a target of 205 to win the first Test. Starc completed a remarkable 10-wicket haul, having also dismissed captain Ben Stokes, leaving Australia in a strong position heading into their chase.
