Defending the decision to drop Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad from the first Test, England captain Joe Root on Saturday said his team should fine-tune their fielding and batting to make a comeback in the Ashes series.
An impressive Australia beat England by nine wickets to win the opener in Brisbane within four days, with Root winning the toss and opting to bat began the visitors’ trouble.
England were bundled out for 147 and despite showing more backbone in the second innings, especially from Root (89) and David Malan (82), they lost and the hosts needed just 20 to win. .
The team was also guilty of giving away too many chances, which allowed Australia to post a first innings total of 425 and an unlucky lead.
With the second Test in Adelaide starting in just five days, Root said, “If I can be honest, we can’t create as many chances as we created and let them down.”
He said, ‘Our bowlers were excellent. We have to get better on the field and with the bat.
“We know where we need to be better, but the way we reacted in the second innings, it showed a lot of character and fighting, which will put us in a good position.”
Despite seam bowlers being favored at the Gabba’s ground, England opted to drop two of their biggest wicket-takers – Anderson and Broad – from the starting eleven.
This sparked surprise and criticism, which Root did not address directly when asked in a post-match television interview if he would have chosen differently if he had retaken his time.
“One thing I would say is that we wanted to change our attack, to change the pace throughout the innings and move through different gears,” he said.
Off-spinner Jack Leach, who came for Broad, was punished for the Australian attack, but Root said he had taken responsibility.
“If anything, it dawns on me that he was given the offensive zone too early, he was not allowed to settle down and he was given a little more opportunity too soon,” he said.
“Jack is a good spinner in 20 Tests, he has shown what a vital role he can play within this team and I am sure he will play a big part in the series going forward.
“It’s really important in a five-match Test series, we don’t feel too sorry for ourselves behind it,” said the England captain.
“We have to remember that there is a huge amount of cricket to be played.”
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