Root reads riot act as team try to pass blame
Captain fears negativity could derail Ashes hope Players told not to moan about weather and pitch
Joe Root gave his team a telling-off in a meeting before play yesterday in an attempt to stop Steve Smith ruining England’s Ashes fightback.
Root, the captain, and Trevor Bayliss, the head coach, called the players together twice, firstly after play on Wednesday and then again yesterday morning to tell them to stop blaming the conditions for their predicament and to concentrate on beating Australia.
The management sensed negativity had seeped into England’s cricket, with a series of setbacks sucking the confidence that had been sky high after the Headingley heroics of Ben Stokes. England lost focus and intensity on the first day of this Test and then ran into an immovable Smith to leave their Ashes hopes fading.
England were aggrieved to find a slow pitch by Old Trafford standards, which was perfect for Australia to repair their damaged morale and also neuter Jofra Archer in his battle with Smith. Some suspected it was a “chief executive’s” pitch, in other words flat and suited for batting so Lancashire could cash in on the 18,500 ticket sales for the fifth day. It is a common, old pro’s whinge, but rarely true.
“Coming from Headingley, where it seamed a bit and did a bit in the first few days of the game and to come here with no live grass on it was interesting, but there is no point complaining about that. We have a job to do,” wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow said last night.
There was bemusement, too, at the dropping of Chris Woakes, a popular and senior player who had a bad game at Headingley but who had been a vital part of the team all summer, playing in every World Cup match and Test. Some felt he deserved loyalty rather than the chop for a player, Craig Overton, who had not been a member of an England squad since the 2018 New Zealand tour. There was no malice towards Overton but dropping Woakes for him rather than Sam Curran, who has been a part of the squad all series, upset the team’s equilibrium.
Overton was picked partly because the data analysis shows that tall bowlers who hit back-of-a-length and draw bounce out of the surface have success at Old Trafford. This is true. However, this is not a classic Old Trafford pitch and this is the latest start to a Test here since the 1880s. Instead, pitching it up and challenging the stumps, in the style of Woakes, has been more important. Overton ran in and gave his all but he is looking like another quirky pick that has not worked.
The 40mph gusts that made bowling a miserable, gruelling experience on the first day added to England’s dark mood and Root and Bayliss sensed English pessimism was threatening their Ashes chances. There was no drop in effort, just a loss of focus.
It is rare for Bayliss or Root to administer rollockings, so when it does happen it is worth taking note. The problems would have faded had England found a way to dismiss Smith. His relentlessness ground them down and ate away at their morale, causing minor issues to develop into something more serious.
Root was more animated yesterday than at any time in his captaincy career. He called the players together after Jack Leach’s dismissal of Smith was scrubbed off due to a no-ball. It was clear that Root was telling his players not to moan, and get on with dismissing Smith again.
The tension simmered all day as three dropped catches, the wicket off a no-ball and Smith’s latest wind-up act tested English temperaments. At one stage, Archer had a bemused look on his face when Root, standing at first slip, ordered him to go around the wicket to right-hander Tim Paine. England are still getting to know Archer and working out how to handle him or what makes him tick. It will take time and challenge Root’s manmanagement skills.
Before this Test, Paine said dismissing Stokes was causing him lost sleep. When Root lays his head on his pillow and closes his eyes, he must see Smith shuffling to the off side and nurdling the ball to midwicket.
This is Root’s second Ashes series as captain. In that time, Smith has batted for exactly 60 hours, facing 2,616 balls, and made just one score below 40. He has batted for 20 minutes short of a whole 24 hours in this series, grinding down bowlers and in turn giving his own quicks plenty of time to rest before bombarding English batsmen. They must love him.