"Australia can be a wonderful place to bat. "That's not putting pressure on our batters. "We can't hide away from the fact we need big scores," he says. However, the skipper is the only man in the travelling squad with a career average above 37. If England are to have a chance of earning only a second series win in Australia in 34 years, they have to find a way to score enough runs.įor all of the talk of the need to bowl with express pace, the tourists can at least explore other plans with the ball if they have a total on the board.Įach of Stokes, Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow have scored a Test hundred in Australia - something Root has not managed in nine matches. "We're not going there to be part of a tour, we're going there to win. "If we do that, we'll be absolutely fine. Don't try to be Australia in Australia, but the best version of ourselves in those conditions. "Not be scared of it or take a backward step, but be brave in our own way. "It's really important that we have a clear understanding of how they will try to attack us, and counter it," says Root. Rockets from Mitchells Johnson and Starc, Ryan Harris, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood have been supplemented by snarling cricketers in baggy green caps and feral home crowds. He was admitted to hospital during the final Test because of severe dehydration.Ī feature of both defeats was the way England were blown away by an Australian aggression not only limited to their fast bowlers. Root was dropped for the final Test.įour years later, Root, captaining England overseas for the first time, was beaten 4-0. Root and Stokes were on their first Ashes tour in 2013-14 when an entire era of English cricket disintegrated to a 5-0 defeat. "He has done it quite recently against Australia."
"It will give everyone a huge lift going into the tour, because we know what he is capable of," says Root. His late addition to the England squad changed the entire dynamic of the series, not only for his immense talent, but because of the potential effect on an Australian team that must have nightmares over his match-winning century at Headingley in 2019. In terms of playing personnel, Root boarded the flight to Australia with his friend, deputy and talisman by his side.įor so long it looked as though Ben Stokes would miss a second consecutive Ashes tour for non-cricketing reasons. The crisis entered the England dressing room during the first Test of the home summer thanks to Ollie Robinson's historical tweets and once again hangs over Root's men following allegations from Azeem Rafiq about Gary Ballance's time as an international cricketer. Let's face it, it was to the detriment of performance in India."Ī will-they, won't-they saga over whether England would actually make the trip to Australia: "It's hard when Jasprit Bumrah is running at you to think about quarantine in Australia."Īll of this on top of a racism scandal that has engulfed the English game. Jofra Archer could have been such a force."Ī rest-and-rotation policy used in response to the demands of the Covid era: "We have, rightly so, put the players' welfare at the forefront of everything we have done. Injuries to fast bowlers that had been earmarked to go toe-to-toe with Australia's pace battery: "We've had some quite big blows in terms of serious injuries.
Just one win in nine Tests since the beginning of February, including the worst return in a home summer in 22 years: "From a results point of view, it's not gone exactly how we would have liked."Ī batting line-up that, bar Root, has shown similar form to a three-legged horse: "Performances with the bat have been less than what we'd have liked. Whatever England had in mind for their build-up to the Ashes, what actually transpired must surely not have not been it. He has been the solid stick running through an ice cream of a team that has constantly been on the verge of melting into a gloopy mess.
During the course of 2021, Root's bins were out more often than he was. On a personal level, his batting went to heights where even angels fear to tread.
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