Joe Root dismisses concerns that England captaincy is affecting his batting
Skipper Joe Root has ignored suggestions that captaincy is affecting his batting before England’s bid to level the Ashes series at the Kia Oval.
Root, 28, averages 30.87 from the series prior to the fifth and final Evaluation and has yet to score a hundred, even while in contrast former Australia captain Steve Smith has chalked up 671 runs in 134.20.
Before he shot more than Alastair Cook in February 2017, Root uttered 52.80 using the bat, but that amount has fallen to 40.90 since – a duck in each of the last three Ashes Tests contributing to a 2-1 series deficit.
But when requested by Sky Sports if he believes the captaincy affects his batting, Root stated:”No. It has been a difficult year for batting on both sides. I’ve not performed because I would have liked but that is part and parcel of Test cricket.
“You have got to keep looking to discover ways of counter-acting hard passages of drama and decent bowling. I’ll keep trying to work on that and try to improve my sport.”
Out-going head coach Trevor Bayliss defended Root captaincy on Wednesday, stating:”He’s not come under question from anyone making any decisions. He is under no pressure in any respect.”
Root stressed that he is fully focussed on attempting to secure a series-levelling win from Australia before embarking upon which he expects will succeed winter tours of New Zealand and South Africa.
He explained:”In terms of my own captaincy, I understand the direction I need to take this team ahead and it’s about starting that now and not after this string – trying to make certain we use this as a stepping stone; win this particular match and then have a really strong winter and then move ahead as a group.”
Australia go into the Test having retained the Ashes in Old Trafford and ruler Tim Paine says that his side don’t have any intention of surrendering a series win – the tourists calling Mitchell Marsh for Travis Head up.
England have made 2 modifications in their own with Sam Curran and Chris Woakes returning at opener Jason Roy and seamer Craig Overton’s cost, and Root states the hosts are all determined to finish the summer on a winning note.
“We’ve not missed anything yet,” he said. “Obviously, we are not able to win the Ashes back but we are completely focused on making certain that we do everything we can to finish the series 2-2.
“We have got an opportunity to level this string and make it marginally better than it appears at this time. So we’ve got to make sure that we win this game, that is the attention of this group.
“And there’s the Evaluation Championship points to perform as well, which down the line may make a massive difference, so there’s a lot to play .”
See the fifth and final Ashes Test live on Sky Sports The Ashes from 10am on Thursday and follow along over-by-over comment and in-play clips on skysports.com along with the Sky Sports App.
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