ROOT’S REMEDY
All change and we can be winners again...
JOE ROOT surveyed the wreckage of his first Ashes tour as captain yesterday and vowed to return in four years with an England team equipped to atone, warning that those who refuse to buy into his vision will be ditched.
Speaking for the first time since Australia officially reclaimed the urn — with the ceremony taking place as he lay attached to a drip in the dressing room — Root insisted that those most heavily involved in the 4- 0 defeat deserved another chance during the tour of New Zealand starting next month.
But in a sign that he is developing a steelier edge to his leadership, the 27- year- old warned that chance could also be a last one.
Reflecting on the Ashes series, Root said: ‘It’s disappointing. I think most importantly I’ve got a period of time going into the New Zealand series to get myself clear on how I want to move forward, and make sure when we start that tour there is a clear indication of what direction we’re going to be going in.
‘And if the lads aren’t prepared to get on board with that then we’ve got to go with something different. But I’m sure everyone will be absolutely 100 per cent of the same thinking.’
England coach Trevor Bayliss will only take in part of the journey to the next Ashes down under after confirmation that the Australian will not look to extend his stay beyond the four-year contract that expires in 2019, placing the onus on Root to oversee the evolution of a team who have serious shortfalls away from home.
‘I definitely want to be back here in four years’ time to captain, making sure I’m sat here talking about a completely different story,’ said Root. ‘There are a lot of things that will have to change. I can’t control everything — but I can control what goes on on the field, how we look to perform in these conditions, in Asia, and still maximise this team in our own conditions and not lose sight of winning Test matches.’
So what, in his mind, are the first things that need to change? ‘ It’s pretty obvious — batting for long periods of time, finding ways of taking wickets when it’s not necessarily going for us. I want to make sure the guys are doing everything they can to develop different methods of doing that or maximising those they have got.’
Root’s own experiences of the 2013-14 tour — when he was left out of the final match at the SCG — persuaded him that the two-Test tour of New Zealand was not the time to
axe Mark Stoneman and James Vince. In fact, the batting cull started and finished with Yorkshire team-mate Gary Ballance, who did not feature at all.
‘You deserve an opportunity coming out of a very difficult series in these conditions to have another crack at it,’ he said. ‘I remember what it was like for me four years ago and it was the making of me as a player. Hopefully it can be the same for other guys.’
For others, such as England’s waning lead all-rounder Moeen Ali, it is hoped that the five- match Gillette one-day series that started early today at the MCG will have a liberating effect.
‘It can be very difficult when you feel under a little bit of pressure, and things aren’t always going in your favour, to really go and be yourself,’ said Root.
‘Someone like Moeen, who’s a very fluent player, had a fantastic rhythm throughout the summer and when you are trying a bit too hard on occasions it can be very difficult to recapture. One-day cricket can be a great release for him.’
Being back on the field in good health is enough for Root, following his hospitalisation due to a chronic bout of gastroenteritis between the fourth and fifth days of last week’s defeat in Sydney.
Having batted for 175 minutes of a fourth afternoon, in which temperatures soared into the high 40s, in an attempt to save the match, there remained a determination to continue the job despite his poor medical condition.
Root said: ‘It was a long night. I was up from 12 until about 5.30am throwing up at about 30- minute intervals. The doctor was with me for most of that period and he decided to get us to the hospital and see what they could do about it.
‘I finally stopped being sick, managed to get some fluids on board and then just wanted to give it a crack.
‘As a captain — and it is my natural character — you do not want to feel like you are letting anyone else down. There was an opportunity for the team to save the Test and I wanted to play my part in that.
‘I fully intended to go back out after lunch but I crashed on the bed when I got in and I struggled to get back off it, so the doctor made the decision it was not a good idea to go back out there.
‘It was disappointing. Yes, it was very tough out there. I was counting down the minutes to when I could come off and have a break. I was just exhausted. But, for me it was a sad way to finish the series because it felt like I could not really go out on my own terms.’
It is unlikely that Australia captain Steve Smith would have wanted to shake hands with his opposite number in the circumstances. But Root regrets missing out on the chance to offer his congratulations, and also an experience to be used as future motivation — the sight of a joyous Australian dressing room.
‘It is not always nice seeing them celebrate, but that is not a bad thing either because being in that dressing room and remembering what their celebrations are like can fire you up when the next series comes round,’ he said.