Australia started the second day on 299-8 and added 18 more runs to their first innings total to end up at 317. England lost an early wicket with Ben Duckett falling to Mitchell Starc in the third over.

However, it was England all the way after that as Zak Crawley and Moeen Ali first stitched a century partnership for the second wicket, followed by a record-breaking double-century partnership for the third wicket between Crawley and Root that came at quicker than run-a-ball.

Crawley scored 189 off just 182 balls before he played on from a Cameron Green short ball that bounced less than he expected. Root was dismissed soon after but off an even more unplayable delivery.

So much so, that according to CricViz’s Expected Wickets model which gives the probability of a delivery taking a wicket, the ball that got Root had a 46 per cent chance of a dismissal. No other ball bowled in the 2023 Ashes so far has had as high a chance of dismissal as that one, making it the most unplayable ball of the series so far.

It took an unplayable delivery to dismiss Joe Root – the ball reaching the stumps 60cm lower than the average delivery pitching on a similar line & length, so far in this test. As per our Expected Wickets model, the delivery had a 46% chance of a dismissal, best of the series. pic.twitter.com/Q4vLX3z8pW

— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) July 20, 2023

Root’s dismissal robbed him of a chance for a second hundred in the series as he was dismissed for 84 off 95 balls, an innings that included eight fours and a six.

While it gave Australia some respite, they will also be worried by the way Root got out, as they are well behind in the game and the Old Trafford surface might just have some tricks up its sleeve.

Watch the Josh Hazlewood pea-roller that knocked Joe Root’s stumps:

The only way to get him out 😉

Nothing you can do about those, Joe… #EnglandCricket | #Ashes pic.twitter.com/2RYAhrfHcM

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 20, 2023