“We have big decisions to make,” Root says ahead of the second day / night ash test that begins Thursday; England are likely to keep faith in the top seven, and while James Anderson is ready to play, it remains to be seen if Stuart Broad will join him and if Ben Stokes will be fit.
Joe Root cautioned that his England team cannot rely on the pink ball to work miracles as they look to throw their Ashes fight under the lights at the Adelaide Oval.
The disappointment over the defeat of nine wickets in the first round in Brisbane has been consigned to history, with the tourists now plotting their way back to the series in Thursday’s day / night clash in South Australia.
The hosts have a proud record of formatting – they played eight, won eight, including five on this field – but the pink Kookaburra’s ability to pull off tricks can be seductive.
Batting can be desperately difficult when the ball swings in the ‘twilight’ period, the kind of conditions England’s well-rested duo of James Anderson and Stuart Broad would enjoy, but Root is well aware that hitters can also dominate.
In 2017, England eliminated Australia by 138 in the second inning in dark conditions, but only after seeing them declare at 442 in the first.
“For us, it’s about not falling into the trap of thinking that you are going to go around corners for five days,” Root said.
“There will be periods in this game where that will have a more prestigious role, but one thing from our point of view is not to think too much about that part.
“It’s about understanding the different challenges that a pink ball test takes on this course and having a lot of options to find ways to take 20 terrains. There will be two sessions where the sun can come out and it may not do as much.
“Also as a batting group, we need to manage those different phases and find ways to get through.”
England is likely to keep faith in the top seven who underperformed the Gabba, where only Joe Root and Dawid Malan won half a century, but they will give a lot of thought to the composition of their bowling line-up.
Anderson, who takes the wicket record, is a certainty that will see the XI fully approved for action, but whether Broad will join him remains to be seen. It could be that Ben Stokes has the key.
He was not in top form for the game in his first competitive appearance in five months, aggravated an old knee ailment and generally seemed to lack rhythm on the ball.
If England are not convinced that they can take a full part of the load this time, they would make up for it by choosing four specialized seamers and sacrificing the effect of Jack Leach, who was so successfully attacked in the first test.
“We’ll find out about Ben in the next few days. Obviously, he had a little strain on his knee in the last game,” Root said.
“Hopefully it’s something he’s gotten rid of now and he can go back to full intensity, but all options are on the table. We’ll have to handle that and see where we are.
“Obviously, we have big decisions to make. With that experience in your team, it’s obviously exciting, there are a lot of good options to choose from.”
Root offered unconditional backing for opening bat Rory Burns, who reserved an unwanted chapter in Ashes history when he lost the stump of his leg to Mitchell Starc on the first pitch of the series.
The left-hander’s confidence seemed to take a hit as he reversed his usual preference to start, retreating at the end of the non-forward early in the second inning and allowing Haseeb Hameed to face off.
“Rory is a very strong character. One thing you can never doubt is that side of his game,” said the captain.
“He is someone who will get stuck, enjoy a great occasion and challenge and he stands up to it.
“If you look at his performances in the last Ashes series, he did some really good performances and he played very well. I have no doubts about Rory in terms of his character. He will come back and want an answer and to put some great forms on the board.”
