Defiant Root accuses Australia of sweeping history ‘under carpet’
England captain hits back at rivals’ taunts Stokes let his country down, claims Warner
Joe Root has hit back at Nathan Lyon’s pre-ashes taunts by pointedly reminding Australia that they have been dominated in recent contests between cricket’s oldest enemies.
Selective amnesia has struck the Australian team ahead of this year’s series – which begins here tonight UK time – as they reincarnate Mitchell Johnson in the form of Mitchell Starc and insist their trio of fast bowlers will deliver a repeat of the drubbing here four years ago.
Lyon has been at the centre of their goading, saying he hoped England careers would end in this series and claiming that former England wicketkeeper Matt Prior wanted to fly home from the 2013-14 series because he was “scared”. Prior responded by saying
Lyon had “embarrassed” himself and reminding him that “this game has a funny way of biting back”.
The message from Root, who is captaining England for the first time in the Ashes, was for Lyon and his team-mates to check recent results. England have won four of the past five Ashes series, are higher in the Test rankings – third to Australia’s fifth – and won the last series 3-2 at home, bowling out Australia for 60 at Trent Bridge.
England have also won an away Ashes series, six years ago, far more recently than Australia, whose last win in England came in 2001, so Root believes that his hosts have as much reason to feel psychologically frail as his own side.
“You hear a lot about these scars [from 2013-14] but it’s a series which happened four years ago, we’ve won four of the last five Ashes,” Root said. “Coming off a great series in England in 2015, we’ve got a lot of guys who were part of that squad and have very fond memories of that,” he said. “I don’t know whether they are just trying to brush that under the carpet or what but, for me, it’s completely irrelevant what happened four years ago.
“It is a completely different [Australia] bowling attack. I don’t think those guys have played an Ashes series in Australia, so they are going to be under pressure as well, so it’s about making sure the lads are aware that it’s not just you [under pressure].”
Root can see through the spin and knows Lyon well after their days playing together as youngsters in Adelaide. “I played club cricket with him in Prospect and, at the time, we weren’t sure who was the first spinner. He has obviously come a long way since then!”
David Warner did not let a stiff neck, which prevented him from batting in the nets for more than two balls, stop him continuing the verbal onslaught by saying the absent Ben Stokes had let his country down. “I think it’s probably disappointing for the England team and the country,” he said. “He’s let a lot of people down. It’s obviously up to the English police first, with punishment or no punishment. At the end of the day he knows he’s made a mistake and it’s about him getting that respect back from his players and fellow countrymen.”
England are used to handling Stokes questions by now and Alastair Cook, speaking before nets at the Gabba, brushed off his absence. “You can’t just always pin your hopes on one guy,” he said. “If there is a bonus of him making the trip at some stage that would be great, but I can honestly say it hasn’t been spoken about in the changing room.”
Despite Lyon and Warner firing up the banter, England have actually had a much easier ride than four years ago. Then the Brisbane Courier-mail, whipped up by Australia coach Darren Lehmann, turned on Stuart Broad and Kevin Pietersen. England lack the pantomime villain figures this time: Pietersen has gone and Broad has earned Australian respect for his performances four years ago.
Instead, the build-up has been dominated by hyping up Australia’s attack which, as Root pointed out, has never bowled as a unit and has a wicketkeeper, in Tim Paine, who has never kept to them before. England know their own team. Moeen Ali is poised to bat at six, moving into the place vacated by Stokes, because England believe Jonny Bairstow is a master at playing with the tail-enders. Jake Ball will take the last bowling spot.
Home advantage is everything in Test cricket these days and Australia are never more confident than when playing at the Gabba, where they were last beaten in a Test in 1988, against West Indies. England last won here in 1986. England are on a survival mission, knowing that emerging unscathed from the Gabba will go a long way to deciding the series. Winning, and breaking the Gabba spell, would be one of the great achievements in recent Ashes cricket.