Novak’s returning
WORLD No.1 Novak Djokovic will compete at this month’s Miami Open having recovered from a muscle tear during his Australian Open title defence.
The Serbian, 33, suffered the injury during his third-round match.
But that did not stop him from clinching a record-extending ninth Australian Open title and his 18th Grand Slam.
He will surpass Roger Federer’s all-time record for most weeks as ATP world No.1 one on Monday, holding the top spot for the 311th week.
Djokovic is entered for the ATP Masters 1000 event on the hardcourts in Miami from March 22 to April 4.
SKIPPER Joe Root once again defended England’s rotation policy after his team crashed to another heavy defeat in India.
Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes all left the tour at various points even though they were players with experience of Indian Test match conditions.
But it made hollow Root’s claim that the likes of Dom Sibley, Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope would be better equipped to do well next time because the fact is there may never be a next time for them.
“That is the unfortunate aspect when it takes four years to tour somewhere a second time,” said Root. “Players not making the trip can happen.
“It’s easy to sit here, look at it now and pick things that could have gone better, but it was done with the best interests of the England team and the three formats.
It’s not an ideal, perfect scenario. As a captain you want all your players available for selection as often as possible and that’s not been the case on this tour.
“The rotation policy is there to look after the players. We’ve said all along that making sure that players are looked after and that their welfare and wellbeing is paramount. We’ve got to follow that through.”
A third defeat in a row, this time by an innings and 25 runs, left England with a grim reality to face up to before their next overseas assignment Down Under.
When it comes to winning away from home in India, Australia or New Zealand the trend is a worryingly bad one with six consecutive series defeats, and just one win out of 23 matches with 18 losses.
As England were bundled out for 135
with Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin both collecting a five-wicket haul apiece the focus was on the tourists’ batting.
They have now gone 74 partnerships without one topping 50, a new England record, and they had just one centurion in the entire series.
And as if to emphasise the burden on Root, his 794 runs across the six Tests this winter represented 32 per cent of all his team’s runs, also a new record.
And for former skipper Michael Vaughan, the refusal to make this series a top priority in an Ashes year is where the trouble started.
“That was where this series was gifted to India,” said Vaughan. “You’re 1-0 up and three or four days later on the same pitch, with different conditions, you make four changes. I just didn’t understand that.
“I felt it was all very bizarre. These four games should have been the priority.”