Joe Root: The best option in England is to make bold calls
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Joe Root did not shy away from conflicting calls for a first-team opening in the Ashes series, when conditions were high for the bowlers, or he sidelined two of England’s most experienced players in a team selection.
One of the nine regrets he has suffered on the sidelines of his loss to the Australian Gabba in England on Saturday was the lack of further protection against some of the attacking killers on his left arm, Jack Leach.
Leach was penalized by the batsmen, who gave him 102 runs for a wicket and nearly eight runs in a field that didn’t take much of a regular turn, but offered plenty of rebounds to fit Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Travis Head, who scored 152, and David Warner, who scored 94 in Australia’s first 425 entry, were particularly attacking Leach, who was playing his first test since March and for the first time in Australian conditions.
READ: Lyon, Australia, wins the 400th test
Root said putting up a defensive field would help Leach gain some confidence and “facilitate the series.”
“I put a lot of that into myself … it was very difficult for me and I probably have it on my shoulder rather than looking at the selection,” he said.
Leach’s place was only confirmed in the coin draw in the starting line-up, with England hoping to get a more versatile attack with a quick ball from Stuart Broad.
It didn’t help that England didn’t defend a lot of runs because they lost a wicket in the first ball of the series and were ruled out by 147 for heavy rains on the 1st day before the end of the game.
“If we do things the way we did in the last two rounds we will get the same result,” said Root, reflecting on England’s last two rounds to Australia, losing nine, drawing and not winning. “We have to be brave. I look back and think (merging) was the right decision.
“In terms of selection, we could have gone the other way (but) in our attack and we wanted diversity in the way we change things.”
READ: Ashes: Labuschagn expects Australia to end England’s resistance with a new ball
Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood and Chris Woakes created chances for England, but they missed some catches and failed on the poor pitch. Ben Stokes was very nice as he was limited in his first test since March, he had problems with the race and the groove, and he seemed to be worried about injuries.
A veteran of the ashes on four tours of Australia, Broad was a stunning failure, with James Anderson, a 39-year-old James Anderson, who had rested for the start of the series, resting on five tours in Australia.
The pair has 1,156 wickets from 315 Test matches, but comes from injuries. Both will be included in the calculations for the Second Test – the night game of the day that will start at the Oval in Adelaide on Thursday. Their ability to swing the ball can be crucial for England in these conditions.
“You can’t doubt the guys who were there – our tailors created so many opportunities – we weren’t good enough to take them,” Root said. “But it’s nice to know (Broad and Anderson) that they need to be fit and available and ready to go to Adelaide.”
After Adelaide, the five-Test Series moves to Melbourne for the traditional Boxing Day Test on 26 December, followed by Sydney and Hobart in January.
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