England captain Joe Root believes that the tourists have a golden chance of doing something special in the upcoming Ashes 2021-22 if they manage to control their emotions, adapt to the conditions and play to their skill level against Australia.
The Ashes series will start on December 8 in Brisbane.
A three-day practice match was already washed out last week, and now the opening day of their final preparations was also rained off on Tuesday, with more showers forecast ahead of the Ashes 2021-22.
Notably, Rory Burns, Haseeb Hameed, and Dom Bess are the only England players who have had any match practice ahead of the high-voltage Test series in Australia, while Jos Buttler, Mark Wood, Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, and Chris Woakes only joined the squad on Tuesday after 14 days of quarantine in Queensland after returning from T20 World Cup 2021.
However, despite the lack of practice and England losing nine out of their past 10 Tests in Australia, Root said that the tourists have a brilliant chance to do something special in Australia this time.
Root stated: “It's been unusual; it's been different to a lot of previous tours. The guys have really taken the opportunity to get as much as they can from what they've had and that's all you can really do in these situations, along with mentally making sure you are as ready as you can be.”
The England captain added, “If we can control our emotions, play to our skill level, and if we can be smart in situations and do things differently to how we've done them previously, then I believe we've got a brilliant chance to do something special here.”
Meanwhile, things are also the same for Australia when it comes to practice, followed by the shocking resignation of Tim Paine as Test captain over a sexting scandal, but Root said England can’t take them lightly.
He further said of the Australian upheaval: “From our point of view it doesn't change anything; it doesn't change how we prepare, that we respect them as a team and what they will bring to this series. More than anything, I don't want us as a team to get sidetracked by what's happening in their camp.”
Root signed off by saying, “It's really important that we focus on ourselves and ready ourselves as best we can. Playing against Pat, I know what a competitor he is and what he brings to their team. I expect him to do just that as a captain as well.”
(With AFP Inputs)
