England opener Zak Crawley praised a “flawless” Joe Root after the 34-year-old broke his Australia century drought on Day One of the second Ashes Test here on Thursday.

Root had scored 39 Test centuries heading into the Ashes series, but he had never passed 100 in Australia on three previous tours. He also failed in the first Test in Perth, leading some critics to question whether the Yorkshireman could be considered one of cricket’s batting greats without scoring a century on Australian soil. But he answered the doubters with a masterful 135 not out.