Never mind the fact that Australia has not been kind to Joe Root. He simply can’t wait for the Ashes – and believes this winter’s trip represents England’s best chance of winning the urn for years.
‘It probably does, yeah,’ he says, before correcting himself. ‘It definitely does, if I am being brutally honest.’
Brutal honesty may be one of the many qualities England need as they set about trying to win a Test series against Australia for the first time since 2015 – and a series in Australia for only the second time in nearly 40 years. But Root is looking forward, not back.
‘The thing I’m most excited about is going there with a completely different approach,’ he says.
‘We’re going to be able to hit them with something quite different in terms of our bowling attack, and the opportunity to potentially play three or four who bowl 90mph-plus for a sustained period of time, which we haven’t had on the three previous tours there. It’s not like we are going there with the same formula expecting different results.’
But while there will be plenty of focus on the likes of Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Josh Tongue, Brydon Carse and Gus Atkinson, the spotlight will also shine inevitably – if not glaringly – on Root himself. Because until he makes a Test hundred in Australia, where 27 innings have produced nine fifties and a best of 89, there will be some who continue to question his greatness.
Joe Root believes the upcoming away Ashes tour is England’s best chance in years
They are wrong, of course. Excluding Australia, Root’s overseas average is nearly 50, and only Sachin Tendulkar has more than his 13,543 Test runs. Besides, no one can be world-class everywhere, all the time, and his average of 35 down under is hardly a failure.
But English and Australian cricketers are used to being judged on their Ashes record, and there is no doubt Root’s three Ashes tours have not gone well.
In 2013-14, he was dropped for the only time in his Test career ahead of the final game at Sydney. In 2017-18, he finished the series flat out in the dressing-room, laid low by gastroenteritis and temperatures that topped 40 degrees. In 2021-22, still captain, he had to contend with Covid restrictions, and questions that had little to do with the cricket. Root remembers a couple of them with a grimace: ‘Are we going to be allowed out of our rooms? Is everyone going to make the plane?’
And if he does tick off three figures in a series that starts in Perth on November 21, he will be spared the sight of the former Australian opener Matthew Hayden running naked around the MCG – a pledge designed to show Hayden’s confidence in Root ending his drought.
Then there’s the fact that Australian pitches aren’t quite as flat as they used to be, allowing a Root a cheeky dig at their fast-bowling captain Pat Cummins: ‘It looks like they’re slightly more bowler-friendly since Pat’s been captain,’ he says with a smile.
Whatever the conditions, Root will turn 35 on what is scheduled to be the last day of the fourth Test at Melbourne, so this will probably his last chance to get the Australian monkey off his back. But it is a narrative he declines to feed.
‘This tour is not about me,’ he says. ‘If I am scoring runs, it gives us a great opportunity to win a series out in Australia. That is the main focus. I go there in a completely different capacity to last time, different circumstances, a lot more experience now and I feel like I have a really good understanding of my game and how I want to manage it in those conditions.’
What about the punditry that will accompany every run?
Jofra Archer (left) and Mark Wood provide England with a dangerous pace attack
‘They are 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, no one is going to remember what Matthew Hayden said or Greg Blewett or Mark Waugh. They are going to look back on the scoreline and think that is a historic England win or not.’
The fact that Ben Stokes’s team came close in 2023 to turning a 2-0 deficit into a historic victory has not been forgotten, even if the Australians have glossed over it.
‘More than anything, it just shows what we are capable of against them,’ says Root. ‘It’s also a very different look to their team to what it was then. They know the threats we pose. Clearly, we’ve got a lot of respect for how good a team they are but I just want to get involved in it and get amongst it.’
And what of Stokes, currently engaged in his latest round of rehab after injuring his shoulder against India in late July?
‘He’ll be ready,’ says Root. ‘I’ve never seen him making so sure he’s done absolutely everything he can to be as fit as possible, as mentally ready and hungry as he is.
‘He’s got great attributes to exploit the conditions there. As a player alone, it’s going to be huge that he’s out there, but more so as a leader. His mentality in bringing the best out of the players around him is another reason to be extremely excited about what’s to come.’
Joe Root was speaking as a brand ambassador for RBC Wealth Management, who are the Community Leadership Partner of children’s cricket charity Chance to Shine. He was speaking at an RBC skill share day, designed to develop the leadership skills and confidence of secondary school girls.
