Give the rise of England Test skipper Joe Root, who is hunger to end his own Australian Test century drought. He’s taking no chances on this year’s Ashes. At 34 years old, Root has accumulated an impressive 13,543 runs in Tests, placing him second on the all-time Test run-scorer charts, just behind Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar. That aside, incredibly for such a talent, Root has never won a Test, nor made a century, on Australian soil.
Having played 158 Test matches, Root’s performance against Australia has been one of his main difficulties. He averages 35.68 from 27 innings, with nine fifties for his name and no hundreds. Perhaps that was always somewhat inevitable too, given his previous experiences over the last two Ashes series have been plagued by distractions. During the 2017-18 Ashes series, Root struggled due to the Ben Stokes off-field incident. In the 2021-22 series, COVID-19 restrictions heavily influenced the game.
Past Challenges in Australia
In turn, Root’s captaincy over the past two Ashes series has reaped highly unproductive rewards. The last time England were victorious in Australia was on the 2010-11 tour. Since then, Root has captained the team relatively unsuccessfully as he seeks to turn their fortunes around.
Reflecting on his experiences, Root stated, “I was captain, COVID (in 2021-22), there was the (Ben) Stokes incident the time before that…the Jonny (Bairstow) headbutt incident as well.” The confluence of these factors has created an almost impossible challenge for England to get back on level terms with their historic rivals to the west.
Despite these disappointments, Root is looking on the bright side as he prepares for his summer tour. He is quick to admit that getting to have played in Australia so many times has set him up for the challenges to come. “Having played in Australia a couple of times before, now going with 150-odd Test caps under my belt, I feel I couldn’t be more ready for it,” he said.
Aiming for Success
Though Root will have his eyes set on personal milestones over the coming series, his greater focus won’t be an individual. He’s obviously keenly aware of the burden of expectations that come from playing in Australia.
What’s remarkable to me is my dogged determination for it, a century, over the past two failed efforts. For one thing, I–I likely wanted it just way too badly. It disconnected me from what truly mattered, and that’s hard to reconcile,” he said. Root is taking a different, breezier tack. He’s looking to use this to make the game more fun and allow him to play at his top ability.
This go-round, I really don’t want to do that, I want to just go to see and experience the tour in the moment. It’s a wonderful country, it’s a wonderful place to go and play cricket,” he continued. Root’s view appears to be that if he plays well enough to win games, individual awards will take care of themselves.
Looking Ahead
As Root prepares for the first Ashes test, the drama is only increasing. The pressure is on, with everyone expecting him and the whole England team to produce dazzling performances. It is a combination of his experience and doggedness that may just make the difference in unshackling a habit of failure for England in Australia.
