Ashes 2019: England showed great character and fought very hard in Ashes, says Joe Root

Root wants to be the man to bring the Ashes back to England.

Root lauds Team efforts in the Ashes | Getty Images

England captain Joe Root hailed the character shown by his team throughout the whole Ashes 2019 after leveling the Test series 2-2 by winning the fifth and final match against Australia at The Oval.

The hosts brilliantly bounced back from a very difficult and emotional fourth Test defeat which enabled Australia to take a 2-1 lead in the series and retain the Ashes urn as well, as Root’s men fought really hard at The Oval to register a 135-run victory in the final Test to save the pride on home soil.

However, on Sunday (September 15), England failed to lift the Ashes Trophy, but Root was really proud of his teammates the way they fought hard throughout the English summer.

Speaking to media at the post-match press conference, Root said: “It is Ashes cricket. Every game you turn up and you are playing for your country. It means so much to everyone. You can see at different periods someone wrestled it back into our favor.”

He continued, “For the first time in this series we felt in front of the game all of the way through. We have to get used to it more and more. I thought we were brilliant. To bounce back from a very difficult emotional week, to come and play in the manner we have, the team has a character in abundance."

"A 2-2 score looks a hell of a lot better than 3-1. It's probably a fair result. There have been times when we have been out skilled and we have been sloppy for the odd hour here and there, which has cost us, but we have always fought very hard. Hopefully, that will be a massive stepping stone and starting point from where we can kick on as a team.”

The Test captain also lauded the incredible home summer as England first won maiden World Cup 2019 and now tied the Ashes series, saying it has been a "huge success" for English cricket.

Root further said, “What a summer of cricket it has been. It has been a wonderful and phenomenal summer of cricket. The World Cup win was phenomenal and guys have given absolutely everything in this Ashes series. Collectively we have shown a lot of character throughout the whole series. We have not always played our absolute best but we have fought really hard.

That World Cup was incredible, for it to finish how it did, made for fantastic viewing - not just the England games, but across the board. It was backed up by such an evenly matched Ashes series. We were blessed by brilliant support throughout and the cricket was pretty gripping. It was quite hard to be involved in at times, especially when we were on the wrong end of it. It has been a huge success for English cricket and a great opportunity to spring the game forward in this country.”

Root wants to lead England in next Ashes in Australia | Getty Images

Meanwhile, Root is determined to lead England in the next Ashes 2021-22 despite two ashes failure – the 4-0 drubbing in 2017-18 and now 2-2 draw this year, saying he was "desperate" to take the team forward and "be at the front" of their bid to regain the urn in Australia.

The 28-year-old continued, “Absolutely. I am very much driven towards that. We have got two-and-a-half years to prepare very well for it. I think it has to be a real focus for English cricket to do everything we can to be in the best possible space for that. I want to be at the front of that, I want to be leading it and hopefully, be the man to bring the Ashes back to England. I'm desperate to take this team forward. I'm in a very privileged position to be captain of the Test team and I'll do everything I to can to get us very well prepared for going down there and hopefully doing something very special.”

The Yorkshire batsman was also contended to give a perfect send off to head coach Travis Bayliss by winning the final Test to level the Ashes 2019 after World Cup triumph. He said, “Trev is brilliant. He has added a huge amount to this Test team. He has been involved in some fantastic series wins home and away and what he has done for white-ball cricket is phenomenal.”

Root signed off by saying, “He is much valued in the dressing room, has a great sense of humor. We all played for him this week and are really pleased to send him off in a great fashion. He has allowed guys like Ben to play their way, to not be afraid to express themselves. Look at Ben's development over that period. He is now one of the world's best all-rounders.”

(With BBC/Reuters Inputs)

 
 

By Rashmi Nanda - 16 Sep, 2019

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