Join the Miguel Delaney team: Inside Football Get exclusive insights and behind-the scenes access to the Miguel Delaney: inside newsletter Football NewsletterJoin the Miguel Delaney inside Football newsletterJoe Root revealed he will concentrate more on his mental approach in the build-up to the Ashes rather than looking at tweaking his technique for Australian conditions.One subplot ahead of England’s bid to regain the urn is Root having never scored a hundred in 14 Tests in Australia, where he averages a respectable 35.68, with nine fifties and a top score of 89.Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting this week backed Root to end his hoodoo in the five-match series starting in Perth on November 21 but added it will be “a mental thing for him more than anything else”Root seemed to agree with Ponting when he said that he has spent more time preparing for the match by focusing on his mental state than technical adjustments.“How I prepare now is different to how I would have done 10 years ago,” Root said. “I’ve played against a lot of their guys, I know how they operate, I know what they’re likely to try to bring to the series.“I used to be very technical in how I prepared. I’d want to make sure that everything felt lined up and my feet were in the right place, my head position was correct. But I’m a lot more mentally focused.“Now I’m a bit more concerned about how I’m looking at the game; how I’m going to approach different situations, whether that be the surface, whether that be different bowler types, different angles, being able to manage those different angles when they come wide of the crease, things like that.“So it’s just having a look at the likely make-up of their squad, the different threats that they may pose and then being clear on how I want to counter that.”1st Test, Perth – November 21-252nd Test, Brisbane (D/N) – December 4-83rd Test, Adelaide – December 17-214th Test, Melbourne – December 26-305th Test, Sydney – January 4-8Root captained England on their last Test trip to Australia in 2021-22, which ended in a 4-0 drubbing for his side, while he stepped down from his position a few months later after losing in the Caribbean.Since then, Root has amassed 14 centuries in 41 Tests, averaging 58 in the Brendon McCullum era, and he is full of optimism about England’s chances despite their record of 13 losses in the last 15 matches.“I look at it at this time and I’m in a completely different stage of my career,” Root said. “I’m no longer captain, I’m playing some really good cricket, and so are we are playing a really exciting way.“We’ve got a great group of players, we can go there and hit them with different tools to those we’ve had on previous tours, so when you look at it like that it’s a really exciting prospect.”Root insisted that England’s immediate priority was to win three ODIs, the first being played on Sunday at Mount Maunganui. England are currently eighth in the International rankings. Cricket England’s squad is almost at full strength, even though Jofra archer will be unavailable this weekend.“I don’t think it’s arrogant to say you look at the quality that’s within our squad, we’re not an eighth in the world team,” Root added. “We should be competing and jostling for that top spot.“That’s the opportunity that lies ahead of us in this series and building towards the next World Cup, is can we work our way up towards that top end?”
2025-10-25 12:00:16
Joe Root concentrating on being ‘mentally focused’ for Ashes series in Australia
