Hurting Root ponders end to rotation in wake of loss
JOE ROOT suggested that England’s controversial rotation policy needs reviewing after his side crashed to another crushing innings defeat against India in Ahmedabad.
The result consigned the tourists to a 3-1 defeat in a series which saw them make four changes for each of the first three matches and two for the fourth — chiefly forced upon them by sporadic availability.
Players have come and gone throughout a series which offered both sides the opportunity to qualify for the World Test Championship final as the selectors opted to use this period to rest those who feature across multiple formats.
This is an Ashes and Twenty20 World Cup double whammy year. And England will be at full strength throughout the five-match T20 series versus India starting this week as they build towards the Twenty20 World Cup back on the subcontinent in October.
‘It would be silly for us to look at this and not try to make it better next time, for the next tour, for the next series,’ said Root, diplomatically.
‘There will be a number of things to consider going into that and it would be very naive to make a comment about it now when it does deserve a lot of time, attention and thought before any decisions are made on it.
‘I think it’s important we learn lessons for next time but it was done with the best interests of the team and the three formats.
‘It’s not an ideal, perfect scenario, and as a captain you want all your players available for selection as often as possible — that’s not been the case on this tour. But we’ve got to get past the stage of playing people until they fall over.
‘Yes, we might not get it right all the time to start with but we need to move forward and look for a better way and, hopefully, we find that better way quickly. The rotation policy is there to look after the players. We’ve said all along that making sure that players are looked after and that their welfare and wellbeing is paramount. We’ve got to follow that through.’
England made four changes for each of the first three matches and although they only made two for the final one, they were denied the opportunity to balance the XI with Chris Woakes as a seam-bowling all-rounder and opted to go in one bowler down to lengthen the batting.
Woakes was ruled out of contention — as spin-bowling all-rounder Moeen Ali had been for the third match of the series — due to it coinciding with his designated downtime.
It appears inconceivable that England could reclaim the urn against Australia next winter with such a revolving-door policy if the series takes place in a similar bio-secure environment.
But they will have to muddle through at the start of the home summer, with Moeen, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer and Jonny Bairstow all committed to the Indian Premier League for its duration.
That almost certainly puts them out of the selection equation for the opening Test of two against New Zealand at Lord’s on June 2, although plans to bring the final of the IPL forward seven days to May 30 would increase the likelihood of them being available for the second at Edgbaston.
Both New Zealand and India are awaiting guidance from the ECB on what quarantine arrangements will be required when they arrive ahead of June 18’s WTC showpiece match, although as things stand England’s players will be permitted to train and play immediately as per the government’s elite sportsperson’s exemption for British nationals returning from organised T20 tournament bubbles.
KEVIN DE BRUYNE insists Manchester City’s incredible winning run won’t distract them in today’s derby against United.
City have defeated 21 opponents in a row since being held to a draw by West Brom on December 15, the third-longest streak in history and only two away from matching Bayern Munich’s all-time record. However, De Bruyne says nobody is looking at the history books yet.
‘We see City-United as a one-off, not as game 22,’ says the Belgian. ‘We have probably surprised ourselves with this run but never talk about the amount of games we have won. It’s such a crazy schedule playing every few days, you don’t get time to look back.
‘When you have a record, it’s nice but you don’t think about it until you look back at the end of the season. It’s not important at this particular time.’
De Bruyne has also highlighted the difficulty of completing a unique Quadruple despite leading the Premier League by 14 points, reaching the final of the Carabao Cup and being well set in the FA Cup and Champions League.
‘We were not far away two years ago when we won three out of four, but it is a lot of games and the schedule is hectic,’ he said.
‘I think people sometimes underestimate this. For example, when we went and played Borussia Monchengladbach and came back and played West Ham on Saturday afternoon, we basically had no training and just travelled and played games.
‘It is not easy and other teams are very good. We try to win whatever is possible and I know people can talk about winning everything, but it is hard work!’
Surprisingly, De Bruyne has never created a goal in a Manchester derby despite being in the Premier League’s all-time top 10 for assists.
‘I am a midfield player and it’s my job,’ he says. ‘I don’t see myself as a top scorer. I score some goals but have always had the ability to create opportunities for team-mates at any point in my career.’
Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola views Manchester United as a ‘real contender’ for the title but is viewing the derby as he would any other fixture for City.
Guardiola’s Quadruple-chasing side are hoping to extend their lead over United at the top of the Premier League to 17 points with victory at the Etihad Stadium.
Guardiola said: ‘It’s just one game where the Premier League is 38 games.
‘Of course they are a real contender, second in table. Everybody knows how important it is but all we’re thinking of is the game plan, to execute it as well as possible and try to win.
‘We are going to be ourselves. This is my target, our target — to do what we have done lately.
‘We know the quality they have. We accept every challenge and want to do a good game to win it.’