England captain Joe Root was not happy with the way England has performed in the Ashes opener. After having faced a massive 9-wicket defeat against Australia at the Gabba, the visitors have to play well in the ongoing five-match Test series.
Root has said 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.”
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However, Joe Root has opined on the positives from the game even after a disappointing start on Day Four of the first Test. Root, meanwhile, asked his team to learn from their mistakes and do well in the next Test as they have four more Tests left in the series now.
“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.
Joe Root also shared why they have added spinner Jack Leach. He said that Leach was added to bring more variation in their bowling attack. However, he admitted that they need to do well as a fielding unit. The second Test will start on Thursday (December 16th) in Adelaide which is also a Day-Night match as well.
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“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.
