'You can't just survive' - Root defends Smith's ugly dismissal

Joe Root backed team-mate Jamie Smith after the England wicketkeeper was criticised for his dismissal on day two of the fifth Ashes Test in Sydney.

With lunch looming, Smith attempted to flog a tame bouncer from part-timer Marnus Labuschagne and was caught for 46.

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BBC cricket commentator Jonathan Agnew called it "one of the worst" dismissals he has seen.

To many it epitomised England's aggressive approach, one often deemed reckless, but batter Root said "you can't win games just surviving".

"It's very easy to over-analyse and look too much at certain dismissals," said Root, who scored a sublime 160 on day two.

"There is method behind what we're trying to do.

"We're trying to move the game forward all the time and when it doesn't come off, it can look a certain way. But as a batter your job is not to survive, it's to score runs. You can't win games just surviving.

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"Sometimes you just make a mistake and you have to learn from it. That's the art of the game: it's not being too hard on yourself, not being too soft on yourself, it's being real and understanding what you need to do to get the best out of yourself.

"They are clearly very good players and I back them 100%."