Joe Root’s 160 puts England in charge before Travis Head hits back for Australia

Joe Root’s 41st Test century carried England to their highest score of a troubled Ashes tour but it was not enough to hold down an Australia side who hit back hard on day two of the fifth Test in Sydney.

Root was a class above his team-mates as he converted his overnight 72 into an outstanding 160 in front of 46,000 fans at the SCG, dragging the tourists to 384 all out.

It was their best total of the campaign and well beyond any of their 10 attempts here four years ago but by stumps a typically fiery 91 not out from Travis Head had shifted the tone.

Having ended his 12-year wait for a first hundred Down Under last month in Brisbane, Root made it two in four matches to reiterate his status as a generational great, but without sufficient back-up it was a one-man show that could not kill Australia off.

Instead, England’s soft underbelly allowed their hosts to reach 166 for two in response. Missing Mark Wood, Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson, a patched-up pace attack was exposed by the bullying brilliance of Head, whose took his series tally past the 500 mark.

Matthew Potts looked lightweight on his first outing in more than a year, serving up seven wicketless overs for 58, and Brydon Carse’s struggles to control the new ball continued. Captain Ben Stokes was once again the pick of the bowlers, picking up both Jake Weatherald and Marnus Labuschagne.

Stokes’ temper had frayed as he exchanged heated words with the latter in a tough final session, during which Root’s calm head was absent due to back pain.

By then he had taken more than his share of the strain, serenely strolling past three figures to go level with Australian record holder Ricky Ponting on the list of all-time century-makers. Only Sachin Tendulkar and Jacques Kallis sit above.

As well as taking England past their previous best of the trip – 352 in the second innings at Adelaide – Root achieved an element of closure at a ground where he was dropped for the only time in his career back in 2014.

Root’s temperament and technical prowess did not rub off on his team-mates, with a handful of careless dismissals robbing them of an even bigger score. Harry Brook fell tamely in the third over of the morning, poking Scott Boland to slip with 84 to his name and a first Ashes ton at his mercy, before Stokes bagged an 11-ball duck.

Worse still was an abject stroke from Jamie Smith, who chanced his way to a streaky 46 before stepping away and slapping a filthy ball from part-timer Marnus Labuschagne straight to cover. In a series littered with errant shots, Smith’s was a new contender for worst in show.

He had already been gifted a life, chipping Cameron Green to cover on 22 only to be spared by a front-foot no-ball. Undeterred, he promptly edged the next ball between keeper and slip in a chaotic stay that did little for his fading stock.

Root knitted the innings together for England, leading stands of 169 with Brook, 94 with Smith and 52 with Will Jacks as he occupied the crease for six-and-a-half hours stretched across two days. Rediscovering his favourite dabs, cuts and driving with authority, he collected 15 boundaries and exuded control of a situation that could have slipped away from England.

He was ninth out as Australia picked up the final four wickets for just nine runs as the second new ball extracted fresh bounce and sideways movement from a pitch that looked to have gone to sleep.

Michael Neser had Jacks caught at slip for a useful 27, circled back to claim a diving return catch as Root made the first real error of his long stay and finished things up with a bail-trimmer that was far too good for Josh Tongue.

England would have been disappointed not to clear the 400 mark and the vulnerability of their position became clear as Head and Weatherald clattered 50 runs and nine boundaries off the first 10 overs.

Weatherald was spared twice in three balls, nicking Potts just beyond Root’s clutches and flicking Carse to mid-wicket where the increasingly error-prone Duckett juggled to the floor. But the pair deserved little better, failing to hold a consistent line or length.

Stokes fared better and was rewarded with an lbw at Weatherald’s expense, but by now Head was up and running. He took every opportunity to show off his prowess on the cut and hitting hard and straight when the half-volleys arrived.

Labuschagne successfully wound up the combustible Stokes but paid with his wicket when he sprayed to gully, leaving Head to reach the close in sight of his third century of the series.