England captain Joe Root was not happy with his side’s performance in the Ashes opener. After a thumping 9-wicket defeat against Australia at the Gabba, England are now under pressure in the five-match series.
Root opened up on his side’s performance in the post-match interview: “Frustration. We worked really hard to get ourselves back into the game last night and we knew how important it was to try and get through to the new ball unscathed. If we carried that partnership forward we could have given ourselves an opportunity. You saw how the pitch was playing, there was sideways movement and the cracks were appearing. It’s a shame we couldn’t get through that initial period.”
However, Joe Root also tried to look for the positives even after a disappointing game on Day Four of the first Test. Root urged his team to learn from their mistakes and bounce back in the next Test instead as they have a lot of cricket still left to play.
“It’s important in a five-match series not to feel too sorry for ourselves, to relish the challenge to go out there and try and get one back. There are good things to take, most importantly the bowling effort. Created chances and felt in the game for a long time. Need to learn from this and come back stronger,” he told.
40-4 is not the way to start a Test series: Joe Root
Root also opened up on the selection of spinner Jack Leach. He stated that Leach’s selection was done to add more variation in their bowling attack. However, he admitted that his side will need to do much better as a fielding unit in the next game.
“We wanted variation in our attack, to change the pace and move through different gears. It’s easy with hindsight (to criticize), but can’t create as many chances as we did and put them down. Similar with the bat, 40-4 is not the way to start a Test series. But we know where we need to improve, and the way we responded in the second innings showed fight which will stand us in good stead. (On Leach) Jack’s a fine spinner, he’s shown what an instrumental part he can play, and I’m sure he will in the series moving forward,” Joe Root concluded.
The second Test will start on Thursday (December 16th) in Adelaide. It will be a Day-Night match with the pink ball.
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