🔗 Share this article

It's not often for an England player gets labeled as whinging down under, yet when the former captain faced questions about the necessity for pink-ball cricket during the Ashes, he gave an honest response.

“I personally don’t think so,” Root stated prior to England's net session at the Gabba. “Clearly very successful and well-received here in Australia, and the hosts have an impressive record in these matches. You can understand why one match is scheduled.

“Ultimately, you know well in advance it will happen. It’s part of preparing for such contests. In a contest of this magnitude, does it need it? Probably not … yet it doesn't imply it shouldn’t be included. I'm fine with it. In my opinion it’s as good as traditional Test cricket. But it’s in the schedule. We have to participate, and we just need to be better our opponents in these conditions.”

Root's Performance in Day-Night Tests Takes a Dip

Similar to his opposite number, Australia's Steve Smith, Root’s typically strong numbers take a hit in day-night games. The Yorkshire batsman has played each of the seven of England’s pink-ball matches so far, and although a hundred in his first such match versus the Windies in 2017, his overall average of 50.9 falls to 38.5 in these games.

Conversely, paceman Mitchell Starc averages 28.97 with a strike-rate around 50 in general, but those numbers shift to 17 and 33 correspondingly with the pink ball. In his last pink-ball appearance, against West Indies, he took six wickets for nine runs as the opposition were dismissed for a meager 27—his best performance that he bettered by taking seven for 58 in Perth.

Deciding Duel Between Root and Starc Could Shape Series

The matchup between Root and Starc is shaping up to be a potential key contests in this series. While Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood usually caused him issues, with them missing in the first Test, it was Starc who got him out for scores of a duck and eight.

Root later reasoned that the first dismissal came from a fine delivery—the type that may not reach to slip in England. His next dismissal, bowled chopping on, amid the team's slump, was a miscalculation on his part. “I know I’m a good player,” he said. “I believe I will score runs again.”

England's Challenges and Preparations

Starc has adopted the wobble-seam as his main tactic these days—he admitted he wished he'd heeded to Hazlewood and Cummins suggestions earlier—and in muggy conditions, swing could come into play. England, down one match, have more to overcome this week, and runs from their premier batter could aid them recover from a self-inflicted hole.

It might not need a hundred should there be quick-fire match unfolds, yet Root's absence of a century in Australia remains a talking point. “I didn't get time to think about it,” he modestly answered on being questioned whether that record weighed on him in Perth.

Team Selection and Historic Opportunity

Root and his teammates practiced hard over the weekend, with hip-hop setting the tone in the heat. Monday and Wednesday are crucial for their readiness, conducted in evening conditions.

Mark Wood’s absence with a sore knee has created an opening in the team, with Jacks netting with the main batters suggests he might be the frontrunner. His off-breaks are adequate, and extra runs down the order might offset any bowling leaks.

However, Josh Tongue has been with the Lions in Canberra and is still in the mix if England opt for an all-pace attack, while off-spinner Shoaib Bashir was in the squad previously. Plenty to consider, indeed, at a ground where England have not won a match in over 40 years.

“It is a chance to create history,” Root commented on this fact. “It would be all the sweeter if we win at this ground.”