Joe Root thinks England have found a template that can help them win the next 2021-22 Ashes in Australia. While he is happy with the 3-1 victory over South Africa, Root was also pleased that his team had found the rhythm that could help them in future as well. Moreover, he was happy with speedsters Jofra Archer and Mark Wood. His performance five-wicket haul and quickfire 35 helped England win the series.
“We’ve got a great template to work around and it’s nice to see it falling into place,” Root said. “We put things in place this winter about the way we want to play. It has taken time and it will continue to take time for us to stay consistent and adapt to different conditions but we are learning quickly.”
“It would have made a big difference to have Jofra and Woody in Australia last time, I do believe that. It’s something you feel that you need in those conditions. One of our big learnings as a team is that we have taken 20 wickets in every game. That is something we have struggled with in the past when abroad with a Kookaburra ball. There’s still a huge amount of Test cricket to be played before the Ashes. But this does give us confidence and it also gives us knowledge about how to perform on wickets that might be similar,” he added.
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However, England lost a few players like James Anderson, Jack Leach, Rory Burns etc. due to injury. On the other hand, Dom Sibley and Ollie Pope scored maiden Test centuries, whereas Dom Bess claimed a maiden five-wicket haul as well.
“It has been a huge effort by the players, the support staff and the management,” Joe Root shared. “We have had to dig deep collectively. It would have been very easy for us to go off the rails after that first game but we stuck tight together. Even losing Burnsy and Jimmy we made sure it was not going to change how we went about things and it gave opportunities for young guys to take their chance.”
“I’m really pleased not only that the young guys have stood up on this tour, but that the senior players have created an environment that allows that to happen. Young guys are coming into a very good environment and succeeding. The senior players are providing that environment and delivering as well. I am really proud of everyone,” Joe Root concluded.
