Joe Root has been able to stamp his authority all over the world, but one place he could not score a ton and something which he would be looking to change and bettering his record is in Australia. In 14 games, Root has managed to score 892 runs at an average of 35.68. England’s assistant coach Marcus Trescothick was optimistic that Root will continue his good form in Australia in the summer coming up.
“The way he’s gone in the last couple of years will probably explain that he’s comfortable with what he’s trying to do, how he’s playing his game. His game has gone to the next level and hence the reason where he is in the rankings. You would be very surprised if he doesn’t carry on in that same sort of vein with the style of play and the type of player he is,” Trescothick said as quoted by ICC.
England are set to play one warm-up game in Perth ahead of the first Test. “I guess everyone has an opportunity to stake their claim. As I mentioned, how consistent we’ve been with our team selection it’s been very level. Bar the odd injury, we’ve not really chopped and changed a great deal. It’s definitely not going to change dramatically before the start of an Ashes series because someone puts their hand up by taking five wickets or getting 150. The team has been what it has been for a period of time for a reason, so that when you come to big series, you are more settled and confident going into it,” he said.
Squads
Australia’s squad (first Test only): Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster
England’s squad: Ben Stokes (c), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Mark Wood
