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Joe Root rues ‘same mistakes with the ball from four years ago’

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Last updated on 20 Dec 2021 | 11:19 AM
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Joe Root rues ‘same mistakes with the ball from four years ago’

The England skipper asserted that the bowlers let the team down with their showing in the first innings

England skipper Joe Root admitted that the bowlers did not bowl the right lengths in the first innings, and insisted that they repeated the same mistake from four years ago at the same venue, where the visitors were guilty of bowling too short after winning the toss and bowling first.

England did not win the toss this time around, but an underwhelming showing with the ball by the pacers, all of whom bowled ‘pretty’ lengths that helped keep the scoring rate down but were defensive in nature, saw the Three Lions take just two wickets on the first day, despite there being plenty of assistance for the bowlers.

Root, speaking in the aftermath of the 275-run defeat in Adelaide, said that his side ‘should have bowled better.’

“When we look at ball in hand, I don't think we bowled the right lengths, we needed to bowl fuller. As soon as we did that in the second innings, we made it harder for them,” Root said in the post-match presentation.

“It’s disappointing because we made the same mistakes that we made four years ago. We could have bowled better and should have batted better.”

England are now 0-2 down in the five-match series, and the result on Monday means that the Three Lions have not won a Test in Australia in 10 years, with them losing 11 of the last 12 matches Down Under. But despite the visitors struggling to go toe-to-toe with Australia in the first two Tests, Root asserted that England have the firepower to turn things around in the series.

“We have to be (confident) about turning things around. I’m confident that we have all that we need to win here. Just need to stop repeating the same mistakes. We have to get through that first 20 minutes and then go greedy, need to leave better as well. Need to also manage certain passages of play better. Certainly capable of it.“

England were reduced to 105/6 inside the first hour of the day’s play, but the Three Lions dragged the game to the very last session thanks to a marathon knock from Jos Buttler. The wicket-keeper batsman had an early reprieve, but then went on to play 207 balls, blocking everything that came his way. Eventually an unfortunate hit-wicket brought his innings to an end, but Buttler, on Day 5, did everything he could to keep the Aussies at bay.

Root attested that the rest of the English players, for the remaining 3 games, should take a leaf out of Buttler’s book.

"Yes, that's the attitude (Buttler's defiance) we needed to harness through the whole game. I feel we competed in patches, but we need to fight the whole game. That’s what is needed to win here. The attitude today was brilliant. We just need to do more of it. I expect us to have that mentality for the rest of the series."

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