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root believe that England ready to end their decade-long ash Drought and “bring the urn home”, insisting on his quest for a century Australia There is a side issue.
England is Didn’t win his most prized series Since 2015 and the last triumph under 2010–11, Root had played the first of his 158 tests the year before.
Root himself is yet to win a single match in Australia in 14 attempts and, despite claiming 39 career hundreds, is still waiting to clinch his first in the country.
Australia’s past players and media outriders are already put that issue on the agendaMatthew Hayden most graciously pledged to go naked at the MCG if he fails to cook a ton.
But for Root, it is a distraction from the tourist’s broader goal and he believes he has never had a better chance.
“At the end of the day this tour is not about me,” Root said. “They’re going to say what they want to say anyway, so why bother worrying about it? It doesn’t make a huge amount of difference.
“When we look back in five years’ time, nobody is going to remember what Matthew Hayden said to me, or Greg Blewett, or Mark Waugh, whoever it is. They’re going to look back at the scoreline and think whether it was a historic England win or not.
“If I am scoring runs and scoring heavily then it gives us a great opportunity to win a series in Australia and that is the main focus.
“It feels like a long time coming and it would be nice to have that right and bring home the urn. I see it as a great opportunity for the group.
“There’s no other way to look at it, really. It’s a beautiful country, it’s a great place to go and play cricket. Just soak it all up and expect a bit of ‘misbehavior’ or ‘banter’. It could be six weeks that live long in the memory if we get it right.”
One thing that already seems to be trending in England’s direction Fitness of rival captains.
While the news from Australia suggests Pat Cummins faces a bleak outlook – likely to miss the series opener in Perth on November 21 with further uncertainty for the remainder – Root is tipping ben stokes To come out with all guns blazing.
Stokes was back to his all-round form against India this summer until a shoulder injury ruled him out of the decisive test, but he has been working tirelessly behind the scenes Getting back to the peak of your powers for what could be the biggest series of your life.
“He will be ready,” said Root, given his chance to shine at the RBC skills day for schoolgirls in Leeds.
“You watch him when he’s walking around at different county grounds and you see that he’s making sure he’s absolutely ready. I’ve never seen him make sure he’s doing absolutely everything he can to be as fit as he possibly can be, as mentally prepared as he is, as hungry.
He added, “He spent six months getting himself back and doing absolutely everything to be in peak condition this summer. He threw everything into it, physically and emotionally, and he’ll make sure he does exactly the same for this winter. That’s for sure.”
“As a player, I think it’s going to be huge that he’s out there, fit and he’s firing, but as a leader.
“It can be quite contagious and people want to pay back in their own way, through their own performance and putting themselves through the same type of hardship for those around them.
“His mentality in bringing out the best in the players around him is another reason to be extremely excited about what is to come.”
Joe Root was speaking as a brand ambassador for RBC Wealth Management, the community leadership partner of children’s cricket charity Chance.