ROOT: WE CAN’T LET AUSSIES GET TO US
J oe Root is firmly on home ground in sheffield’s abbeydale Picture House, but his mind is 12,000 miles away and what awaits in australia on his first tour as england captain.
He got a taste four years ago. ‘i thought the crowd might give us a bit of banter but it was more than that,’ the 26-year-old recalls.
‘at Brisbane, a beach ball came on the field and they wanted me to throw it back. someone said something a bit rude, so i just chucked it to the steward, who popped it. For the rest of that day it carried on with not very nice words.’
When pressed for the content, Root plays a straight bat. ‘it wasn’t very family friendly,’ he smiles.
With squad places still up for grabs during the series with West indies, which starts with the first day-night test on english soil on thursday, there will be players on the flight about to taste ashes cricket in australia for the first time, as Root did in 2013.
He will ensure they know what they are in for.
‘ it was very hostile — quite aggressive on and off the field,’ he says. ‘the crowd give you a hard time and the guys are fully aware that’s the case. our challenge is to experience that and not let it faze us and hopefully come back with that little urn. it’s important to (warn young players). You don’t want to go out there and it just hits you like a train.’
Root has won praise and admiration for his innovative and bold captaincy during his debut series, a 3-1 victory over south africa. it is early days, but the extra burden has not affected his batting (with an average of 57.62) and the Yorkshireman says the ability to compartmentalise — along with the January arrival of his first child — is serving him well.
‘When it comes to batting i generally get stuck in, don’t try to think too much other than watching the ball and playing the situation,’ he says. ‘ Having a young family, it’s very easy to distract yourself. it’s such a nice thing to be able to go back to. it’s the times when you’re on your own where it’s slightly trickier.
‘But maybe i was slightly naive about the time and energy that would go into it. i’ve never been a great sleeper and i do find myself thinking about cricket even more than before.’
on his style of captaincy, he adds: ‘ i’ll never be a man for Churchillian speeches or making everyone emotional through my words. But i can hold my own in terms of conversation and get my message across in the group.’
What does he make of the pink ball to be used in the day-nighter on thursday? ‘ We’ve not had a huge amount of exposure to it,’ he says. ‘it’ll be interesting to see how it performs at different stages of the day. We found that a lot of the time it was crucial to take wickets with the new ball. it generally went quite flat and soft after that.’