It's Pat Cummins to Jonny Bairstow first up this afternoon, with Tom Curran at the non-striker's end.

Solid from Bairstow, despite a short one from Cummins that he can't quite swerve away from as it strikes the keeper's hip.

A tidy maiden from the Aussie quick after lunch.

England captain Joe Root has not returned to the middle after lunch - perhaps another bout of the gastroenteritis that saw him admitted to hospital this morning.

Root retires injured on 58 not out. Curran will partner Bairstow, unbeaten on 38, for now.

Image source, Getty Images

Hang on, Tom Curran is out in the middle...

ESPN Cricinfo's Melinda Farrell: "Smith-tastic."

Image source, Getty Images

The players are making their way back out on to the field at the SCG.

We'll be back under way soon.

How long can Root and Bairstow bat on?

K's Papa: Insipid

Nathan Gledhill: Awful.

Andrew S: Stressful.

ESPN Cricinfo’s Melinda Farrell on TMS: "We spent all last summer in England saying that England possessed an embarrassment of riches in terms of all-rounders, but that has crumbled with the absence of Stokes and Moeen’s lack of form.

"We also talked a lot about numbers two, three and five in the batting order being a problem for England. They have found an answer of sorts in Dawid Malan."

Martin Hazelton: Smithereens.

The Sun's John Etheridge on TMS: "The action has been predictable. Most people thought England would get beaten heavily, especially without Ben Stokes, and that is how it’s played out. England’s bowlers have lacked penetration and potency and the batsmen have been unable to cash in on some decent situations."

England's one wicket to fall during that session was a familiar sight - Moeen Ali lbw to Nathan Lyon for 13.

That's the seventh time Lyon has removed Moeen in this series. Here is the sequence: lbw, stumped, caught, lbw, lbw, caught, lbw.

It's clear that Moeen's technique of playing Lyon by planting that front foot and pushing out in front has not been wise.

Image source, Getty Images

BBC Sport's Stephan Shemilt on TMS: "This series will be remembered for what has happened before it, rather than what happened on the pitch. We’ll remember it for Ben Stokes and Bristol. What has happened on the pitch won’t last long in the memory.

"Australia have been relentless. Their batsmen have got in and chugged on and on."

Nic Wirtz: Boring.

Jody: Unprepared.

Bobby: Laughable.

BBC Test Match Special

During the lunch break, Test Match Special are hosting a panel of journalists - The Sun's John Etheridge, Cricinfo's Melinda Farrell and our very own Stephan Shemilt.

Listen over on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and by clicking the tab at the top of this page.

Cheers, Amy. Sterling work.

I wasn't entirely sure we'd get to this handover but Root and Bairstow have indeed played commendably this morning.

This England side have been particularly guilty of not learning from mistakes but Bairstow is one player that has shown excellent application during his Test career to stop repeating errors.

On a larger level, he tinkered with his technique and has looked a much better player since, while in microcosm in this Test, he's learned from the first innings and played shots much better suited to this pitch, opposition and situation.

You'd like to think Joe Root spends the entire lunch break lying down in a dark room. Preferably with somebody pouring water down him to try and keep that bug at bay.

There's 61 overs left in the day, and I'm off for a breather. Jack Skelton will take you through to... well, who knows?

Geoffrey Boycott
Ex-England batsman on BBC Test Match Special

A good effort by England. Bairstow and Root have played splendidly. Bairstow has put away his attacking shots and played the situation.

Image source, Getty Images

We've all been talking about Joe Root but Jonny Bairstow played that session superbly well. He put away a few bad balls, reined himself in to stop himself repeating past mistakes, and got himself into a great position to play Nathan Lyon.

He didn't lose focus once Moeen felt, either, which is a big positive.

Phil Makepeace: 'Oh.'

Joe Root walks off the field rather gingerly, and Jonny Bairstow pats him on the back before throwing an arm around him.

Root's shown some serious grit this morning to get himself through. It looks like it's taking all his energy to get off the field, and he receives another ovation from the members stand as he goes into the dressing room.