Players must do it my way or face axe, warns Root
Ashes defeat alerts captain to the standards required Team warned no excuses for future off-field incidents
Joe Root has been hardened by his first Ashes experience as captain and has warned players that they must either follow his lead or be left out.
Root admitted England’s 4-0 series defeat by Australia had “opened my eyes” to the standards his team needed to meet both on and off the field. He reiterated that he was determined to return to Australia in 2021-22 for a second tour as captain, and believed this defeat had given him a clearer indication of what direction he wanted the team to take, starting with the two-match series against New Zealand in March.
“I’ve got a period of time going into the New Zealand series where I want to get myself clear on how I want to move forward, along with Trevor [Bayliss] and the support staff, and make sure that when we start that tour, there is a clear indication of what direction we’re going to be going in.
“And if the lads aren’t prepared to get on board with that, then we’ve got to go with something different. But I’m sure everyone will be 100 per cent in the same thinking. More than anything, over the next year or so, I’ll have a really good indication of how I want us to play as a team.
“Naturally, it takes a long time to figure that out as a new captain, and as a young captain as well. I think from this trip I have been battle-hardened and a bit stronger within myself. Hopefully, that’ll show in the coming months.”
Root was speaking for the first time since the end of the Ashes and having recovered from the stomach bug that laid him low on the final day of the fifth Test in Sydney. He was due to return to the side this morning in the first oneday international against Australia at the MCG, playing under captain Eoin Morgan.
Root has been generally loyal to his Ashes players and has given all the batsmen – apart from Gary Ballance, who was replaced for the New Zealand tour by Liam Livingstone – an opportunity to make up for the disappointment of the Ashes series. Root knows they have to deliver and his team have to be more consistent with the bat to comteam pete to win an Ashes series. “You deserve an opportunity coming out of a very difficult series in these conditions and have another crack at it,” he said. “I remember what it was like for me four years ago and it was the making of me as a player. Hopefully, it can be the same for other guys.”
When asked what needed to improve, Root replied: “Batting for long periods of time, finding ways of taking wickets when it’s not necessarily going for us. As captain, I want to make sure the guys are doing everything they can to develop different methods of doing that, or maximising those ones they have got. Those are the on-field things. The rest of the stuff will take a lot longer.”
The tour midnight curfew remains in place for the one-day series and the players have been told they will be punished if there are repeats of incidents such as the Jonny Bairstow butt and the boozy night in Perth when Ben Duckett threw a drink at James Anderson.
“It has been made very clear what is acceptable and what is not, and it’s also been made very clear what will happen if that’s not followed,” said Root. “I think the lads have been and will continue to be smarter, because it will not be tolerated any more from higher up. And I think as well, you know your obligations as an England player and how to conduct yourself and it has been made very clear what happens if you get that wrong now. There will be no excuses when it comes to that.”
It is still early days for Root and it will take time for him to make this team his own but he disagrees that he is too nice to be captain. “I have my moments,” he said when asked if he ever told players off. “I try not to do it if there is no need to. I have my own way of dealing with the team and there is a time and place for things like that and it has got to be genuine. I try not to snap. I try to be real about things and make sure there is a clear understanding of where everybody should be. Now and again, someone, I wouldn’t say gets it, but knows where I am coming from.”
Root revealed he was on a drip during the night before the fifth day in Sydney as he was struck down by gastroenteritis. He bravely batted in the morning but fell asleep exhausted dur- ing the lunch break and was unable to take part in the post-match presentation or have a drink with the opposition, a long-standing Ashes tradition. “It was a long night. I was up from 12 until about 5.30 throwing up at about 30-minute intervals. The doctor was with me for most of that period and he decided to get us to the hospital and see what they could do about it. I finally stopped being sick, managed to get some fluids on board and then just wanted to give it a crack.
“As a captain, my natural character is you do not want to feel like you are letting anyone else down. There was an opportunity for the team to save the Test and I wanted to play my part in that. I fully intended to go back out after lunch but I crashed on the bed when I got in and I struggled to get back off it and the doctor made the decision it was not a good idea to go back out there.
“It was disappointing. It was very tough out there. I was counting down the minutes to when I could come off and have a break. I was just exhausted. I had not slept for a day and spent all night throwing up.
“For me, it was a sad way to finish the series because it felt like I could not really go out on my own terms. These things happen. You have to take them on the chin and move on.”