Joe Root scores superb Ashes century before England declare against Australia

Joe Root acknowledges the crowd and leaves the field unbeaten on 118 after England declared on 393 for eight. Photograph: Shutterstock

The opening day of this Ashes series was a belter, with a packed Edgbaston treated to an absorbing arm-wrestle between England and Australia, a sublime Joe Root century, and the latest aggressive declaration from Ben Stokes.

If this is a sign of what is to come, those pre-match predictions of a classic contest may well have undersold it.