WE DON’T WANT AUSSIES GOING HOME SAYING THEY WON... WE’RE RIGHT UP FOR THIS ONE
PLAYERS ARE FIRED UP FOR FINAL GAME
IT IS the final international match of the summer and, while we are disappointed as a team that we didn’t manage to get those Ashes back, this is not the time or the place to lick our wounds.
The World Test Championship makes sure there are no dead rubbers at the end of a series, but I don’t think there is such a thing in any case when England play against Australia.
Every Test is special in its own right and we’ve got the chance to draw this series.
We don’t want Australia to go back saying they’ve won the Ashes. They might have retained them because of the results they got at home but to deny them a win in our back yard would take some of the gloss off and be something for us.
It is also Trevor Bayliss’s last game in charge and we’ve got the chance to finish his stint as an undefeated coach in Test series at home, which would be a great feather in his floppy hat and well deserved.
But, above all this, there is something fundamental about this week that is driving us. The country has been enthralled by cricket this summer and we’ve got one more chance to deliver for them.
People will be looking at us and wondering, ‘Well the Ashes have gone, but what does it still mean to us?’
There will be people looking at our attitude this week and wanting to see what we’re made of. So you can rest assured that we will be right up for this game.
You’re playing for your country. You’re representing yourself, your family, your team and all those people who pay good money to turn up and watch you – not to mention all those people who care about cricket and are following the game and are willing you on. If
that is not enough to get you up, what is?
The second innings at Old Trafford showed the sort of character we have in the dressing room – we made life as tough as we possibly could for the Australians.
It is frustrating that we have found ourselves behind the game so many times in this series and sometimes you have to give credit to the opposition for how well they have played.
But there is a lot of resilience in our side and we’ve fought as hard as we possibly could all series and, on occasions, it was good enough to come out on top. Just not often enough.
There have been a few questions about Joe Root and his captaincy after Old Trafford but, as far as I’m concerned, he is not only the best man for the job but this summer will end up being an important part of what goes on to make him a great skipper.
You don’t learn a huge amount when things are going swimmingly, you learn in moments of adversity and when you are challenged. How
do you respond to getting
knocked backwards? I know Joe very well and I know that he is someone who rises to a challenge and finds solutions to problems.
He will have learnt a heck of a lot this summer and will look back on it somewhere down the line as a period that helped shape him.
He puts in a huge amount of work behind the scenes to make himself and the team better.
It is a team effort and we haven’t done enough as a group together to be successful – yet he will take most of the flak because he is the captain.
He is a strong-minded individual with an incredible amount of passion for the job and he will continue to get better.
As a batsman, he puts in the same amount of work on that side of things as he has always done.
Like anyone, he can have a run of poor form – that is part of the game and he will come through it. They say form is temporary and class is permanent – and Joe is all class.