On the same morning when he came back from the hospital after being treated for gastroenteritis, Joe Root returned to the SCG to score a half-century and led England's resistance on the final day of the Ashes. Striving to prevent Australia from completing a 4-0 rout, Root's fighting effort was well complemented by Jonny Bairstow as the visitors went into Lunch on Day 5 of the fifth Test at 144 for 5, still 159 shy of making Australia bat again.
Root didn't get to the crease straightaway in the morning session as Moeen Ali accompanied Bairstow. Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon began the proceedings and started with three maidens in a row. The eight overs they bowled in tandem hardly gave the England batsmen any wiggle room, and same was the case when Pat Cummins later partnered Lyon. A confident drive from Bairstow through the cover region off Hazlewood for a four and a streaky boundary for Moeen off Cummins were the only boundaries of the first hour but both batsmen did well to keep the Australian bowlers at bay, showcasing the virtues of patience.
Bairstow, especially, displayed strong defence and didn't seem in any kind of trouble against the Australian bowlers. On the other hand, Moeen was troubled by Cummins a couple of times, driving one in the air and just about managing to clear Mitchell Marsh at point, and later getting an outside edge that landed just short of slips.
On a pitch that didn't threaten too much but still had enough assistance for Lyon, Bairstow and Moeen batted for more than 15 overs for their 28-run partnership, which eventually came to an end when Nathan Lyon bagged the wicket of his offspinning counterpart for a record-equalling seventh time in a series, trapping him in front with a straight delivery.
Moeen's dismissal brought Root to the crease, who continued his vigil from Day 4. A boundary off Starc in his opening over of the day was Root's first in this innings, taking him him 129 balls across two days to manage that. That was also his only four in the session as England's watchful approach continued till the Lunch break, with the visitors managing 51 runs in 29 overs bowled in the session, highlighting their 'defence is key for survival' approach.
Brief scores: England 346 & 144/5 (Joe Root 58*, Jonny Bairstow 38*; Nathan Lyon 3-50) trail Australia 639/7 decl., by 159 runs.
