Joe Root knows the line about his record in Australia by heart. Yes, he is yet to reach three figures there. No, he is not losing sleep over it. “A lot of that prep’s already started back home,” Root said this week in Auckland, where England begin a short ODI series before crossing the Tasman for the Ashes. The winter is shaping up as a defining stretch – one-day duties today, Australia tomorrow – but the familiar chatter around his technique has returned just as quickly.
Former opener Matthew Hayden even joked he would run a naked lap of the MCG if Root finished the series century-less. The noise became louder when Fox Sports pundit and ex-leg-spinner Kerry O’Keeffe laid into Root’s method. “Wrists limper than a French handshake,” O’Keeffe said on Australian television. “It doesn’t work in Australia. The first two Tests are huge for Joe Root. They’re nickers’ Tests. Perth? They nick for fun there. And Brisbane day-night? Everyone nicks in Bris. Joe Root is a nicker. When he was last here, in his first eight innings he nicked off. Australia knows this. What will be his defensive set-up? I’m very bearish about Joe Root.”
It is a blunt assessment, though not an isolated one. Australia’s faster, seam-friendly pitches have offered more assistance in recent seasons: since the 2021-22 Ashes, top-seven batters at home average 30.22 per dismissal, down from 38.14 in the previous four-year block. In England the numbers have moved the other way, up to 38.94 under Brendon McCullum’s tenure. Steve Smith has noticed. “England play pretty well on the flatter wickets, the way they play,” Smith observed. “So, if there’s a bit in it like there has been the last three or four years, with our bowling attack, it certainly makes things a lot more difficult for their batters.”
Root’s own form says something different. Since McCullum took charge, the 32-year-old is averaging 58.00 in Test cricket and he remains the engine room of England’s batting. Unsurprisingly, he is not inclined to tinker just because a few television voices sense weakness.
“I think how I’d prepare now is different to how I would have done 10 years ago,” he said. “A lot more mental. I’ve clearly played against a lot of their guys now. Know how they operate, know what they’re likely to try to bring to the series.”
The mental shift is real enough; the technique will not be rebuilt from scratch. “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 was in the right place, whereas now I’m a little 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, and being able to manage those different angles when they come wide of the crease. Things like that.”
England’s coaches are comfortable with that approach. Assistant Paul Collingwood pointed out last week that Root has scored hundreds everywhere else and, importantly, continues to find ways to score quickly. The challenge in Perth and Brisbane will be balancing that instinct with survival during the new-ball spells of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, perhaps under lights at the Gabba.
There is also the question of format overlap: three ODIs in New Zealand, then straight into Test mode. Typically, players complain of white-ball habits creeping into red-ball batting – weight on the front foot, drives skimming through cover rather than soft hands. Root believes the switch has become easier with age. The ODI matches will provide rhythm, he argues, and the technical guardrails can be slipped on once the Kookaburra replaces the white ball.
Away from Root, England’s top order is still being finalised. Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett are expected to open, Harry Brook could slot in at No.3, and Ollie Pope is set to return from a shoulder injury. Root will anchor at four, as usual, with Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes following. It means the old buffer of Alastair Cook is long gone; Root must score, and score early, if England are to land the first punch.
O’Keeffe’s “nicker” jibe is unlikely to fade until Root proves otherwise. Teammates insist the captain-turned-senior-pro is unflappable, pointing out that his worst Ashes haul – 322 runs at 32.20 in 2017-18 – would be a career year for many. Still, he wants more than respect. An Ashes hundred, preferably one that helps secure an away win, would tick off the last glaring absence on an exceptional CV.
And if he does finally raise the bat in Perth, Adelaide or Melbourne? Hayden’s threat of a chilly lap looms large. Whether or not the big Queenslander follows through, Root’s priority is simpler. A century, a series lead, quiet television studios. The rest can take care of itself.
This will be Root’s fourth Ashes tour, and perhaps his most scrutinised. The build-up, as ever, is noisy. The response remains the same: a shrug, a smile, and another net session before the real business begins.
