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It rarely takes much for an Englishman to be accused of whinging in Australia but when Joe Root was asked a simple question on Sunday — whether a series like the Ashes actually needs day-night Test cricket — he simply gave an honest answer.
“I personally don’t think so,” replied Root, before England began netting at the Gabba before Thursday’s second Test. “It’s obviously very successful and popular here, and obviously Australia have got a very good record [played 14, won 13]. You can see why we’re playing one of those games.
“Ultimately, you know from two years out it is going to be there. It’s part and parcel of making sure you’re ready for it. A series like this, does it need it? I don’t think so … but it doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be here either. I don’t mind it. I mean, I don’t think it’s as good as traditional Test cricket. But it’s in the schedule. We’ve got to play it, and just got to make sure we’re better than them at it.”
Like his opposite number, Steve Smith, Root’s typically stellar numbers take a bit of a nose dive against the pink ball. The Yorkshireman has played all seven of England’s floodlit Tests to date and, despite a century in his first outing against West Indies in 2017, a career average of 50.9 drops to 38.5.
Conversely a bowler, Mitchell Starc, averages 28.97 at a strike-rate of 49.9 overall but 17.08 and 33.3 respectively with a pink ball. In the left-armer’s last such outing in Jamaica back in July, he claimed six for nine as West Indies were razed for 27 all out — career-best figures that lasted all of one Test match after taking seven for 58 on day one in Perth.
The head-to-head between Root and Starc is already shaping up to be one of the deciding factors in this series. Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood have traditionally bothered him far more but in their absence last week, it was the evergreen Starc who wiped him out for scores of nought and eight.
The first was just a good ball, Root has since reasoned; the kind that would likely not carry to slip back home. The second, bowled chopping on amid England’s second day collapse, was a miscalculation on his part. “I know I’m a good player,” he said. “I know I’m going to be able to score runs again.”
Wobble-seam has become Starc’s weapon of choice these days — he wished he had listened to Hazlewood and Cummins about it sooner— but in muggy Brisbane there may well be swing on offer too. England, 1-0 down, have even more to overcome this week and runs from their premier batter would go some way towards them emerging from the self-inflicted hole.
This may not necessarily require a century should another rapid-fire shootout unfold but Root’s lack of one on Australian soil continues to follow him on tour. “I didn’t have long enough to think about it,” was his latest self-effacing answer, when asked if the statistic had preyed on his mind in Perth.
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Root and his teammates went hard at it on Sunday, with some American west coast hip-hop serving as the soundtrack to an Australian east coast session on a sweltering afternoon. Monday and Wednesday are the key days for England’s preparations, taking place in the evening under lights.
Mark Wood’s absence with a growling knee has opened up a spot in the XI and the sight of Will Jacks netting among the main group of batters offered a possible clue as to the favourite to come in. The all-rounder’s off-breaks are serviceable and extra runs at No 8 could offset those he leaks with the ball.
That said, Josh Tongue has been with the Lions in Canberra and remains a live option were England to stick with all-out pace, while off-spinner Shoaib Bashir was in the 12-man matchday squad last week. Much to ponder then, at a ground where England have not won a Test for more than 40 years.
“It is a chance to make a bit of history,” said Root, regarding this statistic. “It would make it all the sweeter if we get over the line here.”
