Root agrees with Smith and Warner’s criticism of England’s bowling plans

Joe Root admitted that England got their lengths wrong with the new ball on day one after his side went 2-0 down in the Ashes

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England rue missed chances on first day of second Test

England captain Joe Root has admitted that his side needed to bowl fuller in the second Ashes Test against Australia, agreeing with criticism that had been levelled at England by Steve Smith and David Warner.

England were reluctant to pitch it up with the first new ball on day one, with Stuart Broad explaining in his Daily Mail column that they were concerned about conceding too many runs.

“Although there was an argument that we could have bowled fuller, because the ball did so little, our economy rates would have gone through the roof.

“Without movement, fuller means you’re bowling genuine half-volleys and that’s not a great place to be.

“As the TV coverage here has pointed out, this is the least a pitch has moved in Australia since 2014, so we held the game well in my opinion.”

However, Warner and Smith were critical of England’s bowling, with stand-in captain Smith labelling it “strange”.

“It’s a pretty tough wicket,” he told ABC on day two. “You really have to grind, back your defence and leave well, then cash in if they bowl anything loose.

“There was some strange tactics at certain times. They bowled a fraction short with the first new ball, not hitting the stumps as hopefully our boys are able to do.”

Warner also offered a similar assessment, saying: “The length that they bowled here today isn’t hitting the stumps. That length there is hitting the stumps in England, and that’s the difference.

“I batted out of my crease and Marnus [Labuschagne] did as well to be able to leave the ball on a good length and we backed ourselves that the ball was going to go over the stumps. That was something that we learned from the Gabba.”

Speaking after Australia had wrapped up a 275-run win to go 2-0 up in the series in Adelaide, Root conceded that Smith and Warner were right.

“With ball in hand, we didn’t bowl the right lengths,” he admitted. “We needed to bowl fuller. As soon as we did in the second innings, we created chances.

“That’s frustrating. We did it four years ago and didn’t learn from it. We have to be better.”