"We made the same mistakes four years ago" - Joe Root gives an honest assessment of England's performance
England captain Joe Root was left unimpressed with his side's performance in the second Test of the ongoing Ashes series Down Under. The visitors suffered another damaging defeat by a margin of 275 runs to hand Australia a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
England might look at this Test match as their best chance gone by to win a game and gather some momentum in this series.
With Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood absent from the game for Australia, the Three Lions failed to make the hosts pay as Jhye Richardson and Michael Neser did a fabulous job of filling in.
Marnus Labuschagne bagged the player of the match award courtesy of his century in the first innings, followed by a half-century in the second.
With Australia needing six wickets on the final day, Jos Buttler delivered some rearguard action but was unable to pull off anything special to try and save the Test match for his side.
In the post-match interview, Joe Root was left rather frustrated with his team's performance in this Test.
While the England skipper was disappointed in his side for making the same mistakes they made four years ago, Root is still confident that his team can turn things around.
"It's disappointing is because we made the same mistakes four years ago. I think we could have bowled a lot fuller, and with the bat, we need to be better, make bigger scores and apply better. The second innings is the attitude and desire we need.
"It's frustrating because we know we are better. 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, we need to leave better as well. Need to also manage certain passages of play better. Certainly capable of it," Root said.
Jhye Richardson claims a five-wicket haul to set up a 275-run victory for Australia!
The hosts go 2-0 up in the #Ashes series 💪
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"Lessons learnt, we have to be better in the next game" - Joe Root
There was plenty of discussion when England announced their team for this pink-ball Test.
The visitors went in with five right-arm medium pacers and left out Jack Leach and Mark Wood, two players who could potentially exploit the conditions much better.
England captain Joe Root says his side can turn the #Ashes series around.
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However, Root didn't waste too much time defending his selections and tactics for this game.
While he did admit that his bowlers could have bowled fuller, the Yorkshireman was quite surprised about the lack of seam or swing movement on offer at the ground.
"It's easy to look at selection and tactics, but we'll address those ahead of the next game. You try to find what you think will exploit the conditions, it's not just the wickets, the ball under lights. We thought there would be more movement.
"A stat going around that this least amount of movement at the ground, which was remarkable. We weren't brave enough at times to get the ball up there and get them driving. Lessons learnt, we have to be better in the next game."
The England skipper signed off by appreciating Jos Buttler's commendable effort in the second innings to try and keep Australia at bay.
Root stated:
"Heartbreaking to see Buttler get out like that, it showed the desire you need out here. His mentality in particular was outstanding. 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."
The third Ashes Test between Australia and England will be played at the MCG in Melbourne starting on Boxing Day, December 26, 2021.