Root tells Australia to ‘bring it on’ for Ashes
SYDNEY: England captain Joe Root Tuesday told Australia to “bring it on”, vowing to ight ire with ire as his team expect a hostile reception at next week’s irst Ashes Test in Brisbane.
Root said he was unfazed by talk that Australia would target him as he prepared for the first of five Ashes Tests at the Gabba and said his side will be hitting back hard.
“From our point of view, we’ll be targeting every single one of them (the Australians),” the 26-year-old told reporters ahead of a second four-day warm-up match against the Cricket Australia XI in Townsville.
“Bring it on. It’s what it’s about. You want that competitive element to it and there are little in-house rivalries if you like.
“It should be a great series and they’ve got some great players within their squad and some good characters as well.
“They’ve got a lot of quality in their attack but we’ve got a lot of quality in our team as well.”
Root said he expected a “hostile... very loud and rowdy atmosphere” in Brisbane, but said England were working hard to be “absolutely ready” for the first game.
One key concern is a lack of big runs for England’s top order in the warm-up games so far, with no batsman going on to score a century despite most getting good starts, and a lack of runs for former captain Alastair Cook.
“I still think that this game, that’s one of the things we really want to get out of it, is guys going on and making big hundreds,” Root said.
“If we get the opportunity to do that, that’s definitely the mentality we’ll have as a batting side and that’s something we’re going to have to have throughout the five Test matches.
“Some would say you don’t want to peak too early and get too many big runs early in these warm-up games but ultimately getting good habits is always a good thing so that’s the way we have to approach it.”
England is unbeaten in its two warm-up matches so far in Australia and aiming to continue its bright start during the four-day game against a Cricket Australia XI.
With the first test starting on Nov.23, the tourists have made no secret of their plans, sticking with the same top six batsmen they used in the previous game. Mark Stoneman will again open with Alastair Cook, with James Vince batting at 3 ahead of Root.
Dawid Malan comes in at five with wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow at six. Allrounder Moeen Ali returns at 7. Cricket Australia on Tuesday said it would announce a squad for the first two tests on Friday, amid growing speculation about the makeup of the team.
Several positions appear undecided with most questions surrounding who will open the batting with Dave Warner, who will bat at No. 6 and who will be picked as wicketkeeper.
Matt Renshaw is the incumbent opener but has been struggling for runs recently while Cameron Ban roft, his main rival for the job, enhanced his credentials with a double century on Tuesday.