Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
GRINNING FORMULA
Root: Ben can put a smile back on England faces for the Ashes
JOE ROOT has backed Ben Stokes to help put the smile back on the face of English cricket with a star turn in the Ashes this winter.
England’s all-rounder is on target to play his first competitive cricket since taking time away from the game with a finger injury and mental burnout.
And, while
Root maintained it will be a case of easing Stokes
(right, with James
Anderson during an England Ashes squad training session) back, he insisted it was “brilliant” to see his talisman’s return.
“We’ve seen him at training, having him back among things is always great, so it’s really nice to have him back involved,” said Root. “Ben has been fully involved in training the last couple of days. He’s had a bat, a bowl, taken some catches and is doing his fielding work slightly separately.
“I am hoping he will be fit for the first Test and it’s been remarkable to see how far he’s come, but it looks very promising.”
English cricket has gone through the wringer this week with Covid, financial difficulties, the curtailment of the India series and the racism scandal gripping Root’s Yorkshire County Cricket Club. On the field, England’s white-ball squad slipped to an agonising semi-final defeat in the T20 World Cup.
England’s Test side, at the training camp on the Gold Coast in Queensland, will be joined by five members of the
T20 squad who lost to New Zealand, as well as coach Chris Silverwood.
And they have limited time to switch into redball mode with what promises to be a gruelling Ashes series starting in Brisbane on December 8.
England will finish quarantine restrictions on November 20 and move to Brisbane for two three-day intra-squad warm-ups between the Test squad and England Lions ahead of the series opener.
Root said: “It’s been great the last couple of days that we’ve been able to get out and train and use some of the facilities. Hopefully, that can continue.
“It’s a huge series, the one everyone wants to be a part of.
“So yes, there’ll be disappointment about the T20 World Cup, but it’s another great challenge and opportunity for us to go in and do something special.”