England captain Joe Root has declared himself ready for an Ashes series that he admitted would “define my captaincy”.
Statistically Root is already his country’s most successful Test leader, overtaking mentor Michael Vaughan in the summer when he oversaw a 27th victory over India at Headingley. But he has yet to get the better of Australia, having suffered a 4-0 defeat in his previous campaign down under followed by a 2-2 draw in 2019 which saw the tourists retain the urn.
So when Root steps out for the first Test at The Gabba on Wednesday, he knows his reputation is on the line.
“Of course it will define my captaincy, I’m not naive enough to think it won’t,” he said at a series launch that saw him come to face-to-face with his opposite number, Pat Cummins.
“If you look how hard it’s been for English captains and English teams [towin in Australia] over the years, it has been something which doesn’t happen very often. But what a great opportunity. I’m very excited about it and can’t wait for the series to get going.”
The numbers do make uneasy reading. England have triumphed just once behind enemy lines in the past eight trips, losing nine of their past 10 Tests and drawing the other.
The success of 2010-11, when Sir Andrew Strauss led a famous 3-1 win, accounts for half of their Test victories in Australia over the past 30 years. For Root, that historical adversity is the perfect backdrop to do something special – not just for him as a captain but for each of his team-mates.
Asked if his squad had what it takes to meet the challenge ahead, he said: “What better stage to really grab a series and make an announcement on the international stage? To say, ‘I’m an Ashes player and I want to live in the history of this great rivalry’. That carrot is there for everyone.”
Meanwhile, England head coach Chris Silverwood declared Ben Stokes fit and ready for an Ashes return at the Gabba, after an eight-month break from Test cricket, and admitted it is a “massive” lift to have their champion all-rounder back.
Stokes has not played Test cricket since March or appeared for England in any format since July due to a combination of a badly broken finger and mental exhaustion.
He was a late addition to the tour squad after making a quicker than expected recovery from a second operation on his left index finger, but has made the most of England’s haphazard preparation by taking wickets and scoring runs in their rain-affected intra-squad match last week.
Asked if he expected Stokes to be fit, Silverwood said: “He has definitely not told me any different and from the noises I’m hearing I should imagine he’ll be coming in and telling me he’s ready.”
