Joe Root makes feelings clear on England's dropped catches after Australia take lead in Ashes Test

Yet Root’s immediate frustration centred not on the scoreboard but on the five missed opportunities that transformed a manageable position into another uphill battle.

“We worked incredibly hard,” Root said, clearly bristling at suggestions England had underprepared for the pink ball.

“We did a huge amount of catching, especially under lights.

"Sometimes catches just don’t stick. You’ve still got to want the ball and be ready when the next one comes - that’s the nuance of this format.”

But England’s failures were glaring, and Root knew it.

The first and arguably most damaging came in daylight: at 30-0, Travis Head edged Jofra Archer and wicketkeeper Jamie Smith failed to claim a rising chance to his left.

Head was only on three but the miss ignited a 112-run surge in 14 overs that set the tone for the chaos that followed.

The rest of the catalogue arrived under the floodlights, precisely the period England had spent two dedicated training sessions trying to simulate.

At 290-4, Alex Carey gloved a brutish lifter from Brydon Carse. Ben Duckett, moving from gully, got hands to the ball but spilled it - Carey was on nought and would survive to 46 not out by stumps.

Duckett then shelled another at 327-5, slow to react at gully as Josh Inglis carved a cut his way. Inglis at least was bowled by Stokes moments later.

Carse then dropped Michael Neser in the covers at 346-6, a straightforward chance that slipped straight through.

Neser ended unbeaten on 15 and remains a concern heading into day three.

The final miss may trouble Root the most. At 352-6, Carey edged Gus Atkinson through the cordon.

Root dived and got fingertips to it - but the wicketkeeper did not move.

“It should have been [Jamie] Smith’s catch,” Root conceded, declining to criticise but offering a pointed assessment:

“We all make mistakes. But we have to be decisive.”

Former captain Michael Vaughan, speaking on a BBC podcast, argued England’s decision not to send players for match practice in the Lions day-night fixture had contributed to the malaise, calling the side “jaded” and “undercooked”.

Root pushed back strongly, however.

“It’s never perfect. You try to give yourself the best possible chance,” he said. “We’ve adapted to the heat, the surfaces, caught under lights, in daylight, twilight. We’re human — mistakes happen.”

Root also tried to pull England back to the task ahead.

“We’ve still got a chance in the game,” he insisted. “If we start well tomorrow, apply ourselves properly and adapt to what the pitch gives us, we can put pressure back on. We just have to make sure the next chance sticks.”