Ashes 2021 LIVE: Joe Root to leave captaincy? – England have been thrashed thrice in three Test matches by the Kangaroos and have already lost the Ashes. The Three Lions have failed miserably to live up to the expectations of their people. There are only a few or no positives to look at while plenty of questions remains unanswered. The Joe Root-led side has been pushed to the wall right from the first Test and no one has been able to fight back.
Joe Root, the batter, has shown some intent but has got zero support from the other end. The batting collapse in the second innings of the third Test has just put the loopholes in England’s batting wide open in bright light. Nine of eleven English batters could not even enter into double figures.
Ashes 2021 LIVE: Joe Root calls for ‘reset’ in England’s Test cricket team, is he going to leave captaincy?
Such batting collapses have become regular for England and that is the most worrisome thing. It has been an abysmal 12 months in red-ball cricket for England as they have lost four series in a year for the first time — the crushing in Australia following home losses to New Zealand and India, and a defeat at the start of the year in India. Never before have England lost nine Test matches in a calendar year.
This all leads up to the talks of a reset in England’s red-ball team. The captain himself has hinted at an overhaul and has also asked for better, testing, and challenging grounds in County Cricket.
Ashes 2021 LIVE: Joe Root calls for ‘reset’ in England’s Test cricket team, is he going to leave captaincy?
“Credit to Australia, they blew us away last night”
“We know the areas we need to improve on”
A defeated Joe Root after an innings loss.#Ashes pic.twitter.com/A2LyEl0s31
— Cricket on BT Sport (@btsportcricket) December 28, 2021
“With where the game is in our country right now, the only place you can really learn is in the hardest environment for what is a young batting group.
“They are having to learn here in the harshest environments. Maybe you look back at 2015 and the reset that happened in white-ball cricket and maybe that’s something that needs to be happening in our red-ball game.”
Ashes 2021 LIVE: Joe Root calls for ‘reset’ in England’s Test cricket team, is he going to leave captaincy?
The 30-year-old is also mulling over quitting captaincy in the longest format. However, he did not give a clear picture into his thoughts.
“The series isn’t over yet. We’ve got two very big games and, more than anything, it’d be wrong to look past that,” he said.
“I’m in the middle of a very important series. My energy has to be all about trying to win the next game. I can’t be selfish and start thinking about myself,” said Root in the post-match presentation.
Editors pick
