ENGLAND captain Joe Root has said that he’s well aware of how the upcoming Ashes series in Australia will go on to define his captaincy.

Root was also the captain when England lost 4-0 Down Under in 2017-18, but feels England have the right mix of experience and youth in the squad to push Australia hard in their backyard.
“Of course it will define my captaincy, I’m not naive enough to think it won’t,” Root said ahead of the opening Test match in Brisbane, scheduled from Wednesday.

“If you look how hard it’s been for English captains and English teams [to win in Australia] over the years, it has been something which doesn’t happen very often.

“But what a great opportunity. I’m very excited about it and can’t wait for the series to get going. You look at some of the players, some of the individuals, some of the performances guys have put in. The senior guys have done it time and time again and the junior guys have shown glimpses of what they can do and their potential.

“What better stage to really grab a series and make an announcement on the international stage. I’m an Ashes player and I want to live in the history of this great rivalry. That carrot is there for everyone.”
Root said India’s recent series win in Australia, and especially their win at the Gabba, gives them hope. Australia’s loss to India in Brisbane was their first at the venue since 1988.

“A lot of teams have struggled in the past to get results here. So of course we’ll take confidence from that,” Root said of India’s 2-1 win. “Credit to India – they played exceptionally well throughout that whole series. In many ways, they set a good example for any touring team to come here and play.

“We’ll try and lean on a few learnings throughout that series – but we’ve also got to play to our own strengths and make sure that we’re doing things our way. Grabbing those big moments within the series, I think, is going to be key for us. Trying to get on the right side of those big swings.”

One of the players that Root is excited about is the “fantastic” Ollie Robinson who has been one of the standout performers for England with the ball this year.

Robinson himself is excited to play at the Gabba, having first watched a Test match here as a 13-year-old and is ready to “get under the skins” of the opposition. In his sights is Steve Smith, the Australia vice-captain.

“I’m definitely going to be trying to get under their skins and try and sort of unsettle them as it were, batters and bowlers really. If I can get them off their rhythm then we’re winning, so it’s something you’ll definitely see and hopefully we will come out on top.

“He (Smith) plays a lot of balls from deep in his crease, his contact points are a lot deeper than other batters. So my lengths might have to be slightly different to him. If you start to starve him of his scoring areas, he seems to want to score. He’s not someone that will just sit there and block all day. Hopefully, he’ll make the mistake or if the ball is moving I can get him lbw or nick off.

“Out here it’s a bit harder with the ball not moving as much but I’ve looked at him and Marnus Labuschagne quite in depth and hopefully have a plan for both,” said Robinson. (Cricbuzz).