The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Root keen to focus on cricket, not sledging
Joe Root will be prepared to take his opposite number Steve Smith at his word that Australia were not mocking defeated England as the hosts began the Ashes with a 10-wicket triumph.
Australia captain Smith and debutant opener Cameron Bancroft conducted a slapstick post-match press conference in Brisbane, in which the latter recalled how Jonny Bairstow greeted him with a ‘head-butt’ rather than a handshake when they first met in a Perth bar several weeks earlier.
Australia had already made capital out of Bairstow’s unusual introduction when they ‘sledged’ him about it in England’s second innings, and then were delighted to see the wicketkeeper hole out to third-man as the tourists faltered badly at the Gabba.
As the series moves on to Adelaide, where the inaugural day-night Ashes Test will begin today (3.30am GMT), Root wants to think the best of Smith.
“You look at the pictures from that press conference, and I think it’s very important you’re careful how you interpret that,” he said.
“I’d like to think that Steve has a good amount of humility about him, and that he’s laughing at the scenario and the comments rather than the situation.”
Smith has confirmed publicly he was doing just that, amused by Bancroft’s dry delivery.
Root has also made clear no ‘sledging’ should ever veer towards unacceptable topics or remarks.
He added: “I’d like to think they know when to stop and when too far is too far. If they have gone too far then it says more about them than it does about anything else.”
England’s response, Root hopes, will be to produce a comeback fuelled by runs and wickets to put the sideshow back in its place.
“I think it’s important we move on really,” he said.
“It’s quite an insignificant part of what’s such an important series – the cricket should be the thing that’s the main focal point. Our responsibility as players is to make sure that, for the rest of the series, (cricket) is the stuff that’s spoken about – what we do on the field.”