Giles calls on old pals to rekindle winning mood of 2005
England channelled the spirit of the 2005 Ashes on the eve of this series by having dinner with members of that legendary team as Joe Root looks to fulfil his boyhood dream of lifting the urn.
Ashley Giles, the England director, organised for five of his 12 fellow 2005 Ashes players to meet with the current squad in the team hotel last night to share stories and give advice on handling the occasion when the series starts today.
It was not aimed at old-timers such as Stuart Broad and James Anderson, who have played a part in three home Ashes series wins since 2009, but was designed to inspire the likes of Rory Burns, Joe Denly, Jason Roy and Sam Curran, who are playing against Australia for the first time. The idea was for opening batsmen to learn from Andrew Strauss, and bowlers to listen to Matthew Hoggard, Steve Harmison and Simon Jones. Former all-rounder Paul Collingwood was also in attendance. Those missing were Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff, who are overseas, Geraint Jones (holiday), and Marcus Trescothick, who has spent the week with England helping the coaches at Edgbaston but had to be at an event for Somerset last night.
Giles and his famous five will be presented to the crowd today as Warwickshire mark the epic 2005 Ashes Test at Edgbaston. Root has always been close to Michael Vaughan and has leaned on him for tactical advice and help with his batting throughout his career, but for others it was an opportunity to meet the 2005 Ashes heroes and pick their brains. England’s players will also be presented with new commemorative blazers today, the latest step in their attempt to reinvent the culture of the team that was initiated last winter by Root and Eoin Morgan. For Root the challenge is to exploit the confidence from winning the World Cup but also maximise returns from players fatigued by the effort of that victory. It is also Root’s chance to erase memories of his last Ashes series as captain 18 months ago, which ended with his team losing 4-0 and him in a Sydney hospital on a drip after succumbing to a stomach bug on the final day of the fifth Test.
“I have dreamt about it [winning the Ashes as captain] from being a little boy,” he said. “It’s huge. Cricket in this country is probably at an all-time high, it’s got interest it probably hasn’t had for a long time and we’ve got an opportunity as a team to make this summer a very memorable one. That’s exciting.”
Root named his team, confirming that Jofra Archer has not fully recovered from a side strain and will have to wait for Lord’s in two weeks’ time to make his Test debut. Instead Root has put his trust in the seam bowling old guard of Chris
‘Cricket is at an all-time high. We can make summer a memorable one’
Woakes, Stuart Broad and James Anderson. With Archer certain to play at Lord’s because Root wants an express fast bowler at his disposal, it means Broad and Woakes are under pressure to perform in Birmingham to keep their places.
“Jofra is coming back from a very serious injury. We looked at conditions, what we thought was best to take 20 wickets here and it also allows him time to get absolutely ready and fit,” said Root. “Jimmy continues to improve. Conditions have suited him but he’s absolutely made the most of it. He continues to find ways of taking wickets and building pressure on any given surface, he continues to be a great leader of our attack. At 37 to keep improving is a great trait to have.”
Root confirmed his move to No3, a decision designed to bolster an inexperienced batting line-up as it comes up against one of the best seam bowling attacks in the world.
“It’s important to spread the experience out and it gives me an opportunity to lead from the front,” he said. “I feel I’ve got my head around the captaincy and my batting and I’m able to separate the two. It’s an opportunity for me to make an impact at the top of the order. It’s a very exciting top order. I want Jason to play in his own way, naturally he has the ability to put
any bowler under pressure at any time. The most important thing is to keep things very simple and focused, and continually work hard to get those good partnerships.”
Root revealed he had been pleading with the England and Wales Cricket Board to allow Ben Stokes to resume his role as vice-captain. Stokes was sacked from the role after he was arrested on suspicion of actual bodily harm just before the last Ashes series. He was only restored as Root’s deputy at the weekend when permission was granted by Colin Graves, the ECB chairman. Root said: “Ben has his own way of getting his message across – very unique and different to the rest of the group but he always gets a response. To have someone like that by your side fills me with huge confidence.”