4 THINGS WE LEARNED

1 NO ONE believes in Chris Woakes more than his England colleagues. Known as the ‘Wizard’ in the dressing room, he again lived up to his reputation for producing magic with a second stunning late-innings batting cameo of the week.

2 DISCIpLINE with the ball proved key. While Australia were forced to send down 14 extra deliveries courtesy of 13 wides and a no-ball, England tallied just two, both wides.

3 JOE ROOT refuses to get flustered as the adhesive in England’s batting line-up. When he pulled Adam Zampa to the rope at midwicket it broke a spell of 67 balls without a boundary for him, stretching back to the start of his match-sealing innings in Brisbane.

4 STEVE SMITH said after England went 1-0 up that Australia might have to emulate their opponents’ way of batting to be successful, and here he shifted himself into the anchor role of No 4 that Root occupies. But, suddenly, the Aussie skipper is shanking his shots and looking a pale imitation of the man who plundered 687 runs during the Ashes.