The Ashes: England skipper Joe Root wants the runs.. but not like last time

JOE ROOT’S most recent day of Ashes cricket began by being admitted to a Sydney hospital suffering from gastroenteritis.
And it ended with him sparko in the dressing room as an innings defeat and a crushing 4-0 series loss was confirmed.
It was a fitting end to a hellish tour, in which England were not just thrashed but humiliated and ridiculed on and off the pitch.
It began with the banning of vice-captain Ben Stokes and a bizarre incident which saw Jonny Bairstow ‘playfully’ head-butting Aussie opener Cameron Bancroft on the first night of the trip.
When the curfew imposed for that flashpoint was lifted, England Lions player Ben Duckett was promptly sent home for pouring a pint of beer over Jimmy Anderson. And all the while England were being comprehensively beaten by an aggressive and bullying Aussie side, about to get their come-uppance via the Sandpapergate scandal in South Africa.
As England begin their campaign to regain the urn in the First Test at Edgbaston today, Root admitted his harrowing experiences Down Under are a major personal motivation.
The England skipper said: “You look back at experiences like that and you want to take out of it as much as you can.
“I felt absolutely gutted and raw at the end of it.
I was spending every half-an-hour making trips to the toilet and ending up having to be put on a drip. I had no sleep and no energy whatsoever.
Joe Root on his tour hell
“You never want to be the person to lose a big series like The Ashes and it does make you that little bit more steely — it makes you desperate to go out and turn things around.
“It was a very frustrating tour, there were a number of things that went against us.
“As a group, we have learned a lot from it and for me, as captain, it planted the seed of how I wanted this team to look going forward.
“Since that moment, gradually we’ve improved and developed. I feel we’re on an upward curve.”
As for the final day at Sydney — when Root was taken ill with vomiting, diarrhoea and dehydration, then went out to bat before retiring hurt on 58 — the captain admitted he felt he had let his team-mates down, despite the symptoms.
Root, 28, added: “I had some sort of gastro bug and it just wiped me out completely. I wasn’t feeling very well at all.
“I was spending every half-an-hour making trips to the toilet and ending up having to be put on a drip. I had no sleep and no energy whatsoever.
“I managed to get to the ground and get out to bat for a bit. I was absolutely determined to.
“The game was still on the line, we had an opportunity to draw the Test.
“As a senior batter, it was my responsibility to go out and try to prevent us losing. I had the full intention of coming out after lunch.
“I went to sleep for 40 minutes as soon as I came off, got ready to go out again but the doctor told me I wasn’t going, saying I wasn’t in a fit state to play, which was disappointing.
“The next thing I remember was waking up about 6.30pm after the game and going back to the hotel.
“I wasn’t in a great place, it was disappointing to finish the tour in that manner. As captain, you feel like you are putting your responsibilities onto someone else.
“But it was a great motivator for the one-day series that followed where we had success and a great motivator for this series.”
It's important to spread the experience out and it gives me an opportunity to lead from the front.
Joe Root on moving to No3
Root starred in Eoin Morgan’s World Cup-winning team, who hammered the Aussies by eight wickets in the semi-final here in Birmingham last month.
This venue, a roaring fortress for England and a place where Australia have not won since 2001, is the perfect place for Root’s men to set the tone for an eagerly-awaited five-Test series.
It will also help the Barmy Army tear into ball-tampering trio David Warner, Steve Smith and Bancroft.
While Aussie skipper Tim Paine scoffed at Edgbaston’s bear-pit qualities, and used fake Winston Churchill quotes to motivate his team, Root is happy to take on extra responsibility.
With England lacking top-order Test experience, he is moving up to bat at No3 — a switch he has been reluctant to make in the past. He said: “It's important to spread the experience out and it gives me an opportunity to lead from the front.
“I’m in a place where I’ve got my head around the captaincy and my batting and I’m able to separate the two.
“It’s an opportunity to make an impact at the top of the order.
“This is an opportunity to show the rest of the group it is something I’m more than prepared to do. I’m not expecting anyone to do something I wouldn’t.
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“I’ve always thought the best thing for the team is for me to score runs.
“For a long time my record at No 4 would suggest that is the best thing.
“But, where we are as a team currently and where I’m at as a captain, I’m a good enough player to be able to make the same returns at No 3.
“Hopefully, this can be a series where I stamp my authority in the role and make it my own.”
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