“I’m sure I can, in these next three games, win a hundred under these conditions,” says England captain Joe Root as he points to an Ashes fight by the tourists, starting in Melbourne.
Joe Root in conversation with England hitting coach Graham Thorpe
Joe Root has backed down to “hit a hundred” ahead of the Boxing Day test as he promised England fans an answer from his side with the Ashes on the line.
Tourists must beat Australia in Melbourne to keep hope of regaining the ballot box after a nine-wicket loss in the first round in Brisbane followed by a 275-race loss in the day-night round in Adelaide.
Captain Root led a locker room report after the Tourists lost 2-0 on Monday, which head coach Chris Silverwood said resulted in “honest talks” between the players about their failures in the series.
“I am waiting for a response from our players and I would like to bring home a nice Christmas present for everyone who stays up,” he said.
“I feel in a really good place with my hitting. I’m sure I can, in these next three games, hit a hundred under these conditions.
“I know it’s brave to say it, but my conversion rate, this year, has not been a problem at all.
“I feel like I’ve handled it well and I understand how I want to score my runs. There’s clarity there, I just need to keep putting myself in those positions, just have the bite between my teeth, (get it)” on my corpse ‘. “
The 30-year-old Root has enjoyed a record in 2021, with his 1,630 round of events placing him fourth on the all-time list for a calendar year.
However, scores of 89 and 62 in the first two tests mean he now has eight fifty unconverted on Australian soil, with Marnus Labuschagne having displaced him as the world’s number one test hitter on Wednesday.
“I’ve never liked those things, but it would be nice to have him back for Christmas,” he said with a smile.
Rory Burns is set to be eliminated by a returning Zak Crawley early in the innings at Melbourne Cricket Ground, with Ollie Pope in place under threat from Jonny Bairstow and Mark Wood set to replace Chris Woakes.
England could make four changes if they return to spinner Jack Leach, but will assess the pitch for the next 48 hours before making a decision.
When asked if blaming his players was easy for him, Root said: “He did it at the end of the last game because of the situation we find ourselves in and the way we lost.
“I will always try to see things with a pragmatic and level approach, but I don’t think you can do it after the way we have played those last two games. I expect a response from everyone this week. I just hope it is not too late.
“There is a lot of motivation for the group and we are doing everything we can to make sure it is 2-1 by the time we get out of here. If we perform anywhere as we can, we will put them in an awkward position.” We will go back and find ourselves in a very different situation leaving this ground. “
