SAM START AS ENGLAND EYE NEXT ASHES
CRICKET
JOE ROOT is already eyeing up the mission he wants to lead in Australia to regain the Ashes in two-and-a-half years’ time.
He’s started by ditching the Jason Roy experiment on his home ground at The Oval and drafting in another Surrey man, Sam Curran, to try to make an impact.
It seems extraordinary it has taken until the fifth Test with The Ashes already lost that the player of the series against India last summer should get his first call-up.
But that is symptomatic of the instability within the Test set-up where players have been shunted from pillar to post to try to make things fit.
Chris Woakes also returns in place of Craig Overton whose battling with the bat at Old Trafford wasn’t quite what they had picked him for.
Under pressure as captain, Root knows he needs to get results going his way in order to make it to Down Under in charge but a win this week to level the series would be a good start.
Root said: “We are disappointed not to win The Ashes back but we are fully BY DEAN WILSON focused on doing everything we can to finish the series 2-2.
“Sam will try to show everyone how good he is – it has been unfortunate and frustrating for him.
“In terms of my own captaincy I know the direction I want to take this team and it is about starting that now and not after this series.
“I’ve thrown everything into it and sometimes you get outplayed. We have to learn and fast but I have a clear direction of how I want to take this team forward.
“In terms of personnel things might change as they have done for a while.
“But we have to focus on the core group of players that can lead this team forward, both home and away, then build from that.
“Build towards winning in Australia and use the next two years to focus on putting in a winning tour Down Under. That’s a real incentive for everyone, to be part of something special down there.”