Returning Root eyeing the ultimate Test ahead B ING DESIRE
JOE ROOT returns to ODI action under Eoin Morgan today but his mind is already racing with thoughts about how he can win back the Ashes next year.
It is only to be expected that the Test captain has an eye on the red- ball challenges that lie ahead in 2021. Just as Morgan’s biggest prize – the T20 World Cup – is at the back end of the year, so, too, is Root’s. He is expecting to take a strong squad to Australia to try to regain the urn, one that includes Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer, who have both been rested from this one- day series in South Africa to protect their bodies.
“I’ve thought plenty about the Ashes,” Root said. “There’s no point hiding from it or trying to make it look like we’re not focused heavily on it, because we are.
“A lot of planning has gone into things. But it doesn’t mean we’re not looking into what’s coming up.
“And while they’re not similar conditions, some of the challenges we’ll face this winter will stand us in good stead when it comes to walking out at the Gabba. Guys will be readying themselves the chance lifetime.
“We have a good chance to build up for it. There’s no excuses this time. Get it right and we could be in a really strong place going out there.”
Root has spent more than 11 weeks without taking the field for England, which should help prepare him for a huge year of cricket.
He has 17 Tests to play and so don’t expect to see him in the powder blue of England’s one- day team too often, and certainly not in the flame red of the T20 side either.
Root still harbours ambitions in all three formats but with Dawid Malan cementing his credentials, it could suit the Test side to see their captain strongly focused on his red- ball game.
At 29, Root still has another 50- over World Cup left in him, but he has made the conscious decision to stay true to his strengths of timing, placement and class against the best bowlers in the world, rather than chasing the power of the T20 hitters.
He is yet to register an international hundred in any format for England this year and he would surely like to correct that in one of these last three games against the Proteas.
“I think for a while I got distracted trying to bat like the other guys and it doesn’t suit the way I play the game really,” he added.
“I still feel I can score quickly in a manner that suits my game best.
“In the last year I’ve not hit my straps the way I’d like to – in Test cricket in particular – but having had this break, I’ve looked at a number of things to change and work on.”
CENTRAL FIGURE: Root will return after 11 weeks off of a