ROOT’S AXE THREAT
Skipper’s ultimatum for England flops
JOE ROOT has warned his England side that heads will roll unless he sees a dramatic improvement against Pakistan next month.
England made it a record 13 matches abroad without a win after failing to beat New Zealand yesterday.
The Kiwis held on at 256-8 as England tried to bowl them out on the final day.
That meant England lost the series 1-0 after being trounced 4-0 in the Ashes earlier in the winter.
The damage was done when England lost the opening match of this series by an innings after they were bowled out for 58 on the first day in Auckland.
Halted
New Zealand knew a draw here in Christchurch was good enough to claim the series and got it when tail-enders Ish Sodhi and Neil Wagner dug in.
The eighth-wicket pair blocked out 31.2 overs before bad light ended the match.
But England had 101.4 overs on the final day to get the 10 wickets they needed and also dropped five catches in New Zealand’s second innings – including Sodhi by Mark Stoneman on nought.
Root finally got rid of Wagner, who made seven off 103 balls, with three minutes of the final hour to go but play was halted before incoming batsman Trent Boult could get to the crease.
With two Tests against Pakistan coming up at the end of May before a full five-Test series against India – with five ODIs against Australia in between – places are up for grabs.
Opener Stoneman scored 60 during the second innings here but he, James Vince and Dawid Malan need to score big runs at the start of the county season to keep their places.
“You go into the start of the summer and you’ve got to go out and perform,” said Root.
“Guys who are in the shirt have got to go and prove to everyone that they are an international player.
“They are very talented players who are capable of special things in an England shirt – it’s up to them to go and prove it at county level.”
Alastair Cook is also struggling for form, hitting just 23 runs against New Zealand at an average of 5.75.
England’s all-time record run scorer will have two matches for Essex to rediscover his mojo, but Root insisted questions over Cook’s England future are premature.
He said: “If those questions keep coming, then he will answer with a big score.”
England also need to find real support for strike bowlers Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad.
The pair took 47 wickets in seven Tests this winter at an average of 29.82, while all the other bowlers took 34 between them at 72.85.