England skipper Root says Ashes series will define his captaincy

Root
will
go
up
against
new
Australia
skipper
Pat
Cummins
in
the
five-Test
series,
and
he
acknowledges
results
against
the
old
enemy
have
been
the
yardstick
for
judging
England
captains
in
the
past.

The
30-year-old’s
only
other
series
in
the
role
in
Australia
resulted
in
a
4-0
defeat
four
years
ago,
but
Root
sees
this
as
an
opportunity
for
himself
and
his
team-mates
to
make
an
impact.

Speaking
ahead
of
the
first
Test
which
starts
on
Wednesday
in
Brisbane,
Root
told
reporters:
“Of
course
it
will
define
my
captaincy
–
I’m
not
naive
enough
to
think
that
it
won’t
–
but
what
a
great
opportunity.

“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.

“I’m
very
excited
about
it
and
can’t
wait
for
the
series
to
get
going.”

Root
is
the
top-ranked
Test
batsman
in
world
cricket,
ahead
of
Australia’s
Steve
Smith
and
New
Zealand
captain
Kane
Williamson.

In
2021,
Root
has
scored
1,455
Test
runs
in
12
matches
at
an
average
of
66.13,
over
500
runs
more
than
India’s
Rohit
Sharma
in
second
place.

He
is
also
set
to
overtake
Alastair
Cook
as
the
player
to
have
won
the
most
caps
while
captain
of
England
during
the
series.

“You
look
at
some
of
the
players,
some
of
the
individuals,
some
of
the
performances
guys
have
put
in,”
Root
added.
“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.”

Australia
have
already
named
their
side
for
the
first
Test
at
the
Gabba,
including
Travis
Head
and
Mitchell
Starc.

The
Australians
have
won
seven
of
their
last
eight
men’s
Test
series
against
England
on
home
soil,
not
losing
a
single
match
in
three
of
their
last
four
series
hosting
the
Ashes.

Root
said
England
were
not
yet
in
a
position
to
name
their
team
but
did
suggest
that
spin
would
be
important,
hinting
that
Jack
Leach
could
feature.

“We’ve
got
all
the
options
on
the
table
right
now.
We’re
not
going
to
name
a
team
just
yet.
We’ll
have
to
see
a
closer
forecast
and
how
that
pitch
changes
over
the
next
couple
of
days,”
Root
said.

“But
I
do
think
it
is
a
good
place
to
bowl
spin.
If
you
speak
to
some
of
the
great
spin
bowlers
from
Australia,
they’ve
always
enjoyed
bowling
here.

“It’s
something
we’ll
weigh
up,
but
we’re
not
in
a
position
to
make
a
call
on
that
right
now.”