READY TO RUMBLE
Root tells Roy to carry on blazing against the Irish
JOE ROOT wants Jason Roy to play with the swagger that has defined his international career in white-ball cricket when he makes his Test debut against Ireland at Lord’s today.
Big-hitting Roy starred in England’s victorious World Cup campaign but had been overlooked in Test cricket due to concerns over his attacking style.
‘I just want him to go out and express himself and trust his instincts,’ insisted England captain Root. ‘He’ll bring something different to our Test batting line-up. He can put pressure on the opposition — he’s one of the best in the world at that.’
Root also urged his players to use today’s Test as a springboard for the Ashes series that kicks off next week, saying: ‘The intensity this week will set the tone for the rest of the summer. We’ve got to ride the wave of the World Cup and capitalise on it.’
It may feel like an unnecessary extra ingredient but Joe Root is adamant today’s inaugural test against Ireland will whet appetites for the second half of this summer’s sumptuous cricketing feast.
there was hardly time for England to recover from their World Cup hangovers before they were back at Lord’s to prepare for what they must convince themselves is something more than glorified red-ball practice before the big one next week.
‘the most important thing and the message for the squad is to play here with a huge amount of pride and passion,’ said the test captain ahead of a four-day match that remains the hors d’oeuvre before the main ashes course.
‘the intensity this week will set the tone for the rest of the summer. as long as we apply ourselves in the right manner and go into the game in that frame of mind, then we will give a good account of ourselves.
‘We don’t want to sleepwalk into this. any Lord’s test is a good chance to set a precedent for the way we want to play for the rest of the summer. I don’t want anyone not to be 100 per cent on it. We can put down a marker.’
the challenge, then, for a different-looking England team from the one that will walk out against australia at Edgbaston next week is to grasp the opportunities presented by the absence of the rested Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler and the injured Jimmy anderson, Jofra archer and mark Wood.
‘ We’re lucky after such an emotional fire as the World Cup to have guys who are fresh and ready and full of energy,’ said Root, who insisted he was also ready to throw himself back into red-ball duty. ‘We couldn’t be better placed in many ways. We’ve got to ride the wave of the World Cup and capitalise on it going into six huge tests.’
England confirmed anderson’s absence for today and decided to hand a test debut to Olly Stone, even though he has played only two games for Warwickshire since being forced out of the tour of the Caribbean last winter with a stress fracture of the back.
But it is the second debutant, Jason Roy, who will command most attention at the top of the order as he attempts to bring the explosive white-ball game that played such a big part in England’s World Cup triumph to the test arena.
Root had a simple message for Roy: do it your way. ‘I hope he doesn’t try to play any differently,’ insisted Root. ‘I just want him to go out and express himself and trust his instincts as much as possible. He reads the game very well and he’ll bring something different to our test batting line-up.
‘there were little pockets in the World Cup when Jason was able to soak up pressure and trust his defence. He may have to draw that out longer in test cricket but there will be times when he can put pressure on the opposition. and he’s one of the best in the world at doing that.’
Just as intriguing will be England’s six-man bowling attack in an unbalanced side which has keeper Jonny Bairstow at five followed by the usual plethora of all-rounders and a bit of a tail in Stone, Stuart Broad and Jack Leach.
this is an important match in particular for the old campaigner Broad and the young gun Sam Curran who — with anderson expected to return next week and archer in time for the second ashes test — are very much competing to take on australia.
It is no secret influential selectorial voices did not want Broad to tour Sri Lanka last winter and those same voices now have reservations about both him and anderson playing in the same side in the autumn of their careers.
Curran, meanwhile, is highly regarded after becoming England’s man of the test summer last year, and brings a left-arm option that suggests he can be something more than simply a stand- in for Stokes. It would be foolish to underestimate the staying power of such a seasoned big-match performer as Broad, particularly with another ashes series around the corner, but he is playing for his immediate England future.
‘It is great we have different options,’ said Root. ‘We’ve got traditional swing bowlers like Jimmy and Broady and now pace options as well as the left-arm angle of Sam. It feels like there are a number of different ways we can go while tailoring our attack to the conditions in front of us.’
the pitch still looked remarkably green yesterday and it can only be hoped it is better than the sub-standard surface for the World Cup final that was forgotten in the drama of the incredible finale.
Such is the forecast for extremely hot weather, though, that England have plumped for an extra spinner, with Leach playing ahead of
Somerset team-mate Lewis Gregory, whose call-up looks to have been more a reward for an outstanding county record rather than any obvious international credentials.
This will be Leach’s first home Test after four successful ones away, but his chances of replacing Moeen Ali as the sole spinner when the Australians come calling may be hindered by his somewhat nervy batting since being hit on the head last year by Surrey’s Morne Morkel. It could be that Stone bats as high as nine today.
England then are strong favourites to carry on where they left off so dramatically against New Zealand here just 10 days ago but, with Middlesex’s Tim Murtagh leading the Irish attack, victory is far from certain.
And Root does not want a wobble now.