Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
WE’RE READY FOR A BATTLE
Hostile Gabba holds no fears for skipper Root
JOE ROOT has vowed to be ready for an Ashes battle this time round, and urged the Aussies to “bring it on”.
The England skipper made the frank admission that, four years ago, he simply wasn’t prepared for the tsunami that hit him at the Gabba, where every spectator “thinks they’re playing for Australia”.
Root averaged just 27 on his last tour Down Under, as England were humbled 5-0 by a rampant Mitchell Johnson-led Australia, and he was dropped for the final match in Sydney.
Being left out of the team is something that has driven him on relentlessly to his new peak as one of the finest batsmen in the game and, as captain on this tour, he knows he could be in for some special treatment from the Aussies..
“I ’ve heard a lot of chat about targeting me, i n particular,” said 26-year-old Root (left).
“I think it’s something they use as a tool sometimes, to try to get the crowd and the public behind it, try to get on my back verbally, but we’ll be targeting them all.
“Of course, we’ll have plans in place for each individual player, but bring it on. It’s what it’s about. You want that competitive element to it. And those little in-house rivalries.
“We expect it to be hostile, we expect it to be a very loud and rowdy atmosphere at the Gabba.
“Hopefully, we are in a good place and ready for that, because I think we have got our heads round what to expect.
“Personally, last time I wasn’t ready. The senior guys, coming off the back of winning the time before, had slightly different memories from maybe the ’06 side of things.”
England’s recent memories are sharp, but Root is determined to stay calm and play the game at his pace.
He was still smiling after paintballing on a day off and getting a few bruises but, with one final warm-up match to go, thoughts are turning to what kind of pain he can inflict on the Aussies.
“It’s almost against all the odds, isn’t it?” he added. “You’re in their backyard – everyone in the ground seems to think that they’re playing for Australia, and they’ll do everything they can to help their side.
“You’ve got the opportunity to upset that, go and do something really special, playing for your country, Ashes series, a lot of history – you want to be a part of that.”