Jos praised as bowlers bear brunt
JOE Root praised Jos Buttler for his battling - but ultimately unsuccessful – bid to save the second Ashes Test, but condemned England’s bowlers as the Three Lions went 2-0 down in the series.
The Lancashire wicketkeeper produced a 207-ball blockade, which yielded only 26 runs, as he took the final day into the last session at Adelaide.
But in the end, his gritty show came to nothing as he trod on his own stumps, with England ultimately succumbing to a 275-run defeat.
They now head into the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne knowing that anything but a win will see their bid to bring home the Ashes end.
It was the end of a rollercoaster week for Buttler that has also seen him dismissed for a first-innings duck, take a couple of athletic catches and drop another three chances with the gloves.
“Everyone is absolutely devastated for him, having had that mindset and that strength of character in what has been quite a difficult week for him,” said captain Root.
“I’m very proud of the way the guys fought today. The attitude and the desire, that’s how we need to go about a whole match.But we can’t just leave it to the last day to try and pull off an enormous feat like we had to do today.”
Whispers of another whitewash to follow 2006/07 and 2013/14 are already growing in volume Down Under but although that is a fate Root does not expect, he insists change must come quickly.
He struggled to conceal his frustration at the collective failure from his bowlers to pursue the fuller lengths which have so far proved most effective in these conditions.
Having diagnosed a similar flaw on the
same trip four years, it is an appeal Root is tiring of.
“First of all we need to learn and learn fast. We can’t make the same mistakes that we have made so far,” said the skipper.
“We’ve got three massive games now, with the Ashes on the line. If that’s not motivation enough, I don’t know what is.
“The disappointing thing about this week is that we made the same mistakes as last week in Brisbane.
“We just can’t afford to do that. That’s the frustration.
“In the first innings in particular, we were a little bit short with the ball.
“We need to be a little bit braver, get the ball up there and accept we’re going to be driven.
“You’re looking at half a metre at times. If you look at how many times we beat the bat, it can be frustrating.
“With the bat, we have got the ability. I don’t think that Australia are that much better in these conditions as the scoreline suggests,” he added.
“I’m convinced we’ve got what we need to win Test matches over here but we’re not going to if we keep missing chances and don’t give ourselves an opportunity to get into the Test match with the bat.
“We’ve got to find ways of building those partnerships, getting in, making big contributions.”