England have to capitalise on Smith absence, says Root

Captain declares shift in Ashes momentum In-form Pope called up as injury cover for Roy

England captain Joe Root senses a massive shift in momentum and has said his team have to “jump on” the absence of Steve Smith from the Australia side as they look to level the Ashes series this week.

Despite Root’s confidence, England have to win at Headingley. A victory for Australia would ensure they retain the Ashes and a draw would pile the pressure on England as they would have to win the final two Tests.

All the conversation before the Lord’s Test was about how England would stop Smith. Jofra Archer’s pace provided the answer and Root appears to have grown six inches in height now he has a huge new weapon at his disposal. He described Archer as a natural for the big stage and believes his arrival has given England the upper hand.

“Massively,” said Root, when asked if there had been a shift in momentum. “I think the way we played throughout that game [at Lord’s] was excellent. With the ball we looked threatening throughout. We managed to get good partnerships together, especially in the second innings. I said I wanted a response and got it. I feel we are in a good spot going into this match.”

Smith has haunted Root for three Ashes series. He scored two hundreds here in 2015, dominated the series in Australia 18 months ago and looked immovable until his brutal duel with Archer that resulted in a delayed concussion.

“It’s very unfortunate on their part, but we had the challenge of Jimmy [Anderson] going down four overs into a Test match and had to manage without a replacement. So you get these swings within a big series like this every now and again and when you get your opportunity you’ve got to jump on it,” Root said.

“They will be huge shoes to fill whoever comes in for Australia and we’ve got to make sure we keep looking to exploit their techniques on these wickets.”

England will retain their top-order line-up, so Root will stay at three, even though he admits he is less consistent in that position. Joe Denly and Jason Roy will be given one more chance to stake a more permanent claim to their places in the side. Jonny Bairstow will move

up to six and Jos Buttler drop to seven if England bat first. If they bat second, Bairstow will be given more time to recover from keeping and swap with Buttler.

Ollie Pope will join the squad this morning as injury cover for Roy, who took a mild blow on the head in the nets on Tuesday and will have to go through a concussion protocol procedure this morning.

Roy will be fit for the game, but Pope, who just scored an unbeaten double hundred for Surrey and played two Tests last year, is next in line for a middle-order place. Root declined to name a final XI and England are considering bringing in Sam Curran for Chris Woakes. There are concerns over how Woakes’s knee will stand up to the quick turnaround between Tests, but he appears likely to play.

“I think there’s a lot of talk about the batting order because of the variety of options we have. At no stage are we trying to reinvent the wheel,” Root said. “But we’ve got to play to our strengths and be flexible over the course of the series. I feel Jason can have a real big impact at the start of an innings. It might not have happened just yet, but we fully expect him to go out and do that.”

Home comforts could not come at a better time for Yorkshire’s Root, who returns to Headingley after a golden duck in the second innings at Lord’s. He tweaked his guard, moving more over to the leg side to try to combat his weakness against the ball nipping back into him, but was out caught behind.

Root, who is averaging 32 since the previous Ashes series, added: “I am enjoying the role [at three]. I just love batting. It doesn’t matter where it is. It was frustrating when I got two balls that went up the slope [at Lord’s] quite significantly and two balls of high quality with the new ball, but that can happen when you bat at the top of the order.

“I might not be as consistent as I would be batting further down, but it means when I do get in I have to make it count and get big scores.

“I did change my guard on that wicket. I felt it was not really carrying to slip. I felt the danger was the one that nipped back. It was more like risk management rather than worrying about my technique.

“I have done things like that before and it has gone under the radar. When it goes wrong it seems to grab the attention of the experts.”

That is the scrutiny of being an England captain in an Ashes series.

England need their leader to fill the hole left by Smith by being the dominant batsman in the match. No change: Jason Roy is set to play despite a blow to the head in the nets