ROOT: IT’S OUR TIME TO FLY

Joe calls on his young Lions to put the Ashes debacle behind them and kickstart a new era to silence all the critics

JOE ROOT has urged newlook England to prove a point after a disastrous year that ended in an embarrassing Ashes defeat.

On his team’s first assignment since the 4-0 debacle Down Under, Root is still the man at the helm while so much around him has changed.

And the skipper hopes his guidance - and some fresh faces - will be enough to turn the tide for a malfunctioning Test side.

A trip to a region where England have won just once in 54 years is perhaps not the ideal venue for a red-ball reset but with West Indies also struggling this could be a dogfight.

Root has doubled down on his commitment to staying in charge well beyond this threematch series, but even he cannot really be looking much further than a decent first day in Antigua. Even that would be a step forward from Australia.

“It’s an opportunity for all of us to prove a point,” said Root.

“We know historically it’s not an easy place for England to play – we’ve only one once in 50-odd years – but that’s a great opportunity for the group.

“To come away from here winning would be a huge achievement. We understand it’s a big challenge, but something we’re very excited about. I’m very committed, excited and energised to take this team forward and I’m grateful for the chance to do that.

“I think the one thing I considered most is I would never do anything I didn’t think was the best thing for this team.

“I think I’m the right man for the role, the right man to take this team forward. And as long as that’s the case I’ll be fully committed to the role.”

Root will need plenty of support from others to get England back to winning ways, especially from his vice-captain,

Ben Stokes, who will be able to play a small all-round role, but will be crucial as a batsman. Stokes’ commitment to the Test team, by turning down the Indian Premier League, left Root “chuffed” and a big impact in the series would be the ideal follow up. “Look at the way he’s trained and you can see how focused he is,” Root added. “Coming back from injury he’s going to have to be smart and honest about where he’s at, but it’s really pleasing and promising to see how he’s approached things until now.

“The decision not to go to the IPL was his own and shows how much he cares about Test cricket and how much he cares about this team. I’m chuffed about it.”

Root and stand-in coach Paul Collingwood will make a final decision in the morning on whether to play spinner Jack Leach or extra seamer Saqib Mahmood on a cracked and dry surface.

Alex Lees, 28, a former Yorkshire team-mate of Root’s, will make his debut opening the batting alongside Zak Crawley in a bid to solve a perennial problem for England and shore up a fragile batting line-up.

“I played a lot of cricket with Alex as a young lad,” said Root.

“He’s always been very talented, very confident and assured in his own game. I hope he can help us fix a problem.”