Burns and Root hold firm for England in Ashes opener

Rory Burns and England captain Joe Root kept Australia at bay on the second day of the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston on Friday.

At lunch, England were 71-1 in their first innings -- a deficit of 213 runs. Burns was 41 not out and Root unbeaten on 11.

England still had plenty of work to do to get back on level terms but a session where they lost just one wicket in opener Jason Roy represented a vast improvement on their first-innings 85 all out in a Test win over Ireland at Lord's last week.

England were 10-0, with left-hander Burns four not out and Surrey team-mate Roy six not out, when play resumed Friday in slightly overcast conditions.

That left them 274 runs behind Australia's first-innings 284 built on a brilliant 144 from Steve Smith, ignoring the jeers of a raucous crowd, in the former captain's first Test innings since he completed a 12-month ban for his role in a ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.

Australia were in dire straits at 122-8 but their last two wickets more ...