'Not good enough': Joe Root called out over 'dreadful' Ashes moment

Things couldn't have gone much worse for England on the first two days of the Ashes series.

On day one at the Gabba they were bowled out for just 147 after Joe Root won the toss and elected to bat despite what appeared to be very bowler-friendly conditions.

'WORST I'VE SEEN': Cricket world stunned by 'awful' Ashes moment

WORST EVER: Marcus Harris' unwanted 139-year Ashes first

Then on day two they dropped catches, missed runouts and bowled no-balls on wicket-taking deliveries as Australia built a lead of 196 runs with three wickets remaining in the first innings.

To make matters worse they are now dealing with injury ccncerns over Ben Stokes and Ollie Robinson.

But one innocuous moment late in the day on Thursday summed up England's nightmare and seemed to highlight the frazzled mindset of skipper Root.

With Travis Head dispatching England's bowlers and motoring towards a century, the Aussie batter smashed a ball along the ground towards Stokes at mid-off.

It was a rare instance of Head picking out the fielder, however it turned into four overthrows when Stokes made an errant throw back to wicketkeeper Jos Buttler.

Buttler probably should have made a better attempt at keeping the ball in front of him, but it was Root's actions at first slip that caught everyone's attention.

Instead of backing up the throw, the skipper remained rooted to his spot at slip and watched the ball sail straight past Buttler to the boundary.

England great Ian Botham suggested it showed Root's "frazzled" state of mind, while many were critical of the captain's poor backing up.

Jack Leach selection under the microscope

Root has been copping it from fans and former players over his captaincy and decision making.

And the selection of spinner Jack Leach is under the microscope after the left-armer was mauled by Australia's batters on Thursday.

Leach suffered a nightmarish day in Brisbane, his 11 overs plundered for 95 runs and just the wicket of a perhaps over-confident Marnus Labuschagne to show for his pains.

At 8.63 runs an over, Leach's economy rate was the second worst for anyone bowling 10 overs or more in a Test innings, only beaten by the 8.85 of Pakistan's Yasir Shah against Australia in Sydney in 2017.

Former England spinner Phil Tufnell was among those not surprised at all that Australia's batters had earmarked the Somerset man for special treatment.

"I wasn't surprised they targeted him whatsoever," said Tufnell, who noted that while Leach is fairly experienced, coming into the match with 16 Tests and 62 wickets under his belt, he hadn't played a Test since India in March nor any game for his county since September.

"He got a little bit of the rough end of the stick - to be slung in on a green top in Brisbane.

"He got thrown a bit of a hospital pass in my book.

"There were four left-handers in the top seven and they decided to just come out, play some shots and put him under pressure from the off.

"It would have been tricky for any finger spinner to be bowling in those conditions."

"He's England's best available spinner, but he shouldn't be playing. Stuart Broad should have been playing instead of Jack Leach."

with AAP

Click here to sign up to our newsletter for all the latest and breaking stories from Australia and around the world.