Joe Root told Sky Sports that England are taking inspiration from their Ashes fightback two years ago as they aim to stay in this winter’s series as he explained why the Covid series in 2021/22 showed how important breaks from the game are for a team.
England are 2-0 down to Australia after successive eight-wicket defeats in Perth and Brisbane and must win in Adelaide from Wednesday to retain hopes of claiming the urn overseas for the first time since a 3-1 triumph under Sir Andrew Strauss in 2010/11.
Ben Stokes’ side rallied from 2-0 down at home to Australia in 2023 to draw 2-2 and would arguably have won the series had rain not scuppered their pursuit of victory in the fourth Test in Manchester.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Take a look back at some of the most heated moments from the 2023 Ashes series, which ended 2-2
Stokes said after England’s Gabba defeat last weekend that Australia is “no place for weak men” and Root, the only away batter to average over 30 so far in the series after finally notching his first overseas Ashes ton, insists the tourists are up for the fight.
Speaking to Nasser Hussain at Adelaide Oval, the 34-year-old said: “The whole complexion of the series changes if we win this week.
“I know it was in our own conditions, but the way we played from Headingley onwards [in 2023], it was like a completely different team. It’s easy to forget that.
“It might be in different conditions but the game doesn’t change. If anything, it becomes more simplified out here: it doesn’t swing as much, the pitches don’t deteriorate as much as in England.
Root (left) says England have the ability to fight back in the Ashes series but must ‘be better for longer’
“All we need to do is be better for longer. When we have got it right in this series, we have looked very dangerous but we have to put it together for a long period of time.
“This is a place where you have to be hardened, resilient and be able to withstand pressure for long periods of time but I think this group is definitely capable of doing that.
“Whether [Stokes’ comments] were aimed at players individually, I’m not so sure but I do think that is a fair statement. If you are to win here, you have to handle big moments.
“If we come out with our best stuff and learn from some of the experiences throughout the tour, then I think we have a great opportunity to win here.
“Being 2-0 down creates an even bigger opportunity. Imagine if we get it right? Imagine what that will feel like?”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Australian radio station 92.7 Mix FM tracked down the England cricket team relaxing on the beach in Noosa for some sledging, which was taken in good spirits by captain Ben Stokes!
Root opens up on difficulties of 2021/22 Ashes series
England enjoyed a pre-planned – and much-maligned by the media – mini-break in Noosa between the second and third Test.
Root says the squad are now “mentally refreshed” for the stern challenge that lies ahead, with Australia likely to be bolstered by the return of captain Pat Cummins following a back injury that has sidelined him since July.
Root was captain when England lost 4-0 in Australia four years ago while cooped up in Covid bubbles during the pandemic.
He says that “shambles” should bring some “perspective” to struggles on the field, while stressing that England want no “sympathy” for their current plight.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Hussain says England need to show their character after ‘succumbing to pressure’ during their heavy Ashes defeats in Perth and Brisbane
Reflecting on the 2021/22 tour, the Yorkshireman added: “The hardest bit was that it was not the first Covid bubble we were in but the last. We had done 20-odd Tests by that point, which was probably 15 more than the next team. The guys were wiped out.
“We were turning up to games with four of our coaches in isolation for two weeks, players running the build-up to a Test match.
“It was a shambles, really, and not what you need for peak performance. It shouldn’t be like that.
“That was the state of the times but you could see the wear and tear it took on coaches and players, so I think it’s important that perspective is kept.
‘Sometimes we get it wrong and make mistakes’
“You are not always going to get it right as players. We are desperate to win every game we play, are very passionate about playing for England, representing our country and delivering our best as often as we can. It’s not through lack of effort or hard work.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Speaking on the Sky Sports Cricket podcast, Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton Speaking on the Sky Sports Cricket podcast, Hussain and Michael Atherton discuss how coach Brendon McCullum’s claim ‘overprepared’ for the second Ashes Test could wind up supporters
“Sometimes we get it wrong and make mistakes. This is not a sob story – I am not sat here with a little violin asking for people to feel sorry for us.
“We know how lucky we are and how good we’ve got it, but you need to be able to switch off and get away from the game so you are mentally right to compete and be right at the top of your game.
“I understand when you lose a couple of games there can be a misconception about what it might look like [to go to Noosa], but ultimately you have to prepare in a way that is going to benefit you and the team and give you the best chance of winning out here.
“The most important part of Test cricket is preparing mentally. Everyone within that team has the qualities to go and win Test matches, do individual things of brilliance to turn a game. It’s making sure you are in the mental space to deliver that.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Nasser and Michael Atherton hailed Root after his century in the pink-ball Brisbane Test
Root: First Ashes hundred in Australia a ‘relief’
Root admitted scoring his maiden Ashes hundred in Australia in his 30th innings in the country, after scores of nought and eight in the series opener in Perth, was a “relief”, so what was the key to getting that monkey off his back?
The batter added: “I think in the first Test I got too obsessed with the bounce, trying to play square of the wicket. I think that was to my demise in both innings.
“In Brisbane, I tried to take modes of dismissal out of the game where I could, played as straight as possible and understood that sometimes less is more in those conditions.
“Trying to take out as much risk as possible with the highest amount of output and replicate that time and time again.”
England will be hoping for a Root repeat in Adelaide this week to help kickstart what would be some comeback.
Ashes series in Australia 2025-26
Australia lead five-match series 2-0
