Bust for Root
IN PERTH GIVEN how high the stakes are now stacked, it was tempting to whisper “be careful what you wish for” when Joe Root said after a week of negative headlines it will be a relief to finally get back to the cricket.
If the Ashes are gone inside the next five days, with England then 3-0 down with two to play, the post-mortem into what went wrong on the pitch this winter may well be every bit as uncomfortable for English cricket as a whole heap of inquests into who did what to whom on a boozy night in Perth.
But as Root put it succinctly here yesterday, if his players produce the performance he demands – and deserves – in the third Test, the dynamic of the whole series changes heading for Melbourne.
Bad publicity which has dogged England since they arrived in Australia will not go away on account of one win but victory here at the WACA would help alter the perception this touring party are on a three-month bender and also get them right back in it.
Root admitted it is not going to be easy. He is well aware of a record here at the WACA which details just one win for England – in 1978-79 – in 13 attempts. But he remains utterly convinced this group have a win in them and, with backs to the wall, it has to be now.
“Ultimately we have to really be smart in how we prepare and get things right in that respect. If we do that and have clear ways of how we go about things, that’s what will give us the best chance of winning, not looking at history and what has gone before,” said Root.
“It’s this team doing what we do best for long periods of time and making sure that’s our sole focus.”
Australia may have England in something of a half nelson in Perth but they have not won in two attempts here since the last Ashes. It will be their final chance in an Ashes Test here at the WACA before the move to the new 60,000-capacity Perth Stadium.
Two years ago New Zealand held them to a draw in a match which featured two doublecenturies and four hundreds; then last year South Africa beat Australia by 177 runs after a big second innings allowed them to declare on 540-8.
The WACA have been told by Darren Lehmann to produce a faster track but the fact that all-rounder Mitchell Marsh seems likely to boost their bowling ranks – coming in for the out-of-form Peter Handscomb – hints at insurance to save wearing out their fast bowlers if it is a flat one.
England remain convinced they had Australia on the ropes in Adelaide even if it took them a while to get them there. Root looks set to acknowledge they don’t shout about the things we do behind the scenes. For example, five players from the squad have today gone to see an England fan who is terminally ill and can’t come and watch the Test match. “That sort of thing is not reported, which is fine, but is a fairer representation of this group of players rather than a couple of minor incidents in nearly got it right by naming the same XI, with debutant Craig Overton keeping his place.
Overton and the rest of England’s fast bowlers must probe the sorts of lengths they did in the second innings in Adelaide, bowling fuller even if it means going for a few more runs, then hoping to get some reverse swing as the ball ages. Last year Kagiso Rabada won the match for South Africa by running through Australia with pace, bounce, seam, both types of swing, yorkers and – crucially – the ability to target the cracks that developed in the pitch late on. So winning the toss would be handy for Root as batting last would not be ideal.
England also will need to work out a way of shackling Nathan Lyon as South Africa did in their second innings, sending his 34 overs for 146 runs with no wicket and no bars that have been blown out of all proportion.”
Anderson made his comments in his Daily Telegraph column.
Cook agreed with Anderson. He said: “I don’t think we’re being painted fairly in the media on our culture. But clearly there have been a couple of things that have been brought up because the world has changed since September.”
Duckett has been suspended for the remainder of the tour and given a final written warning over his
PROBABLE TEAMS
AUSTRALIA:
Bancroft, Warner, Khawaja, Smith (capt), S Marsh, M Marsh, Paine (wkt), Cummins, Starc, Lyon, Hazlewood.
ENGLAND:
Cook, Stoneman, Vince, Root (capt), Malan, Moeen, Bairstow (wkt), Woakes, Overton, Broad, Anderson.
maidens. “We have to make sure we concentrate on that second innings at Adelaide and make sure that is everything that is on our minds, and make sure we try to repeat that performance for five days in Perth,” said Root.
“Again, it’s frustrating from a cricket perspective that, in a fragment of the game, we were extremely good and outplayed Australia.
“But we need to do if for five days and not wither after fighting our way back into the game or leave the door ajar and let them back into it.
“We know what we have to do: we have to score more runs as a batting group.”
The other stuff Root insisted with good reason is not an accurate reflection on who this team are or how they behave. But he is also aware that his captaincy is in danger of being tarnished unless there is a sea change in how his players behave.
“That’s why as a group we have to make sure we perform well this week and win – and get people talking about the cricket,” he said.
We have to get people talking about the cricket
conduct after pouring a pint of beer over the head of Anderson during a night out last Thursday.
However, the timing of Anderson and Cook’s outbursts risks infuriating coach Trevor Bayliss.
The Duckett incident may have been trivial but Bayliss, left, was not impressed. On Saturday, he said: “I’m fed up. I’m here to coach the team and I end up spending most of my time in front of cameras trying to explain some behaviour the boys have been warned about.”