Joe Root agrees of not delivering for England in the Ashes

England lost the Ashes series 4-0.

Root failed to inspire England in the Ashes. (Getty)

The 4-0 Ashes series defeat is still haunting the England skipper Joe Root. Root finished the five-match series with 378 runs from nine innings – he scored five fifties but was unable to make his first Test century in Australia.

His rival skipper Steve Smith, on the other hand, was on a dream run in the Ashes, scoring 678 runs with an average of 140.  

Root is now very focussed on his next assignment as England skipper. England are currently playing a 5 match ODI series against New Zealand which will be followed by a two-match Test series. New Zealand have won the first ODI which was played on Sunday. Root now is keen to ‘bounce back’ in the ongoing series against New Zealand.

Recently in an interview with Sky Sports, Root spoke at length about his disappointment regarding not performing on the series with the bat and also not leading from the front as a skipper.

Asked whether he feels he failed to do himself justice during the Ashes, Root said: ‘Yes I think so. You look at their senior players, someone like Steve Smith and the amount of runs he scored in a big series like that.

‘As a captain and senior player you have to stand up and deliver and I wasn’t able to do that. ‘That’s not sitting well with me right now and coming into a new series in New Zealand, you want to make sure you bounce back from that and set the example for the rest of the guys.’

‘I think there are some good things that have come out of this tour,’ the 27-year-old told Sky Sports. ‘I think we’ve got great depth and a lot of talent under the current side. It was an opportunity for those guys to stand up and try to make their case in an England shirt.

Losing the Ashes series against Australia was one of the lowest points as England skipper for Root in his short career so far. England then bounced back in the ODI series but without Root. England flawed again in the T20I series and that is why this next assignment for Root is one big opportunity to set the script right. Root has started the series on a good note with the bat scoring 71 in the first match. England will want their premier batsman to come good throughout the series. 

Smith’s Australia won the first three Test matches in the Ashes to win back the urn before England secured a hard-fought draw in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. The home side rallied in the finale in Sydney to take the series 4-0, but Root still believes England can take positives from the experience.
 

 
 

By Anshuman Roy - 26 Feb, 2018

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