Joe Root admits next year’s Ashes series is already at the forefront of his mind and says ‘there’s no excuses this time’ as his England team bid to clinch a rare win in Australia.
This time next year England will be deep into the 2021-22 Ashes series, bidding to reclaim the urn following their 2-2 draw with Australia in the summer of 2019.
A fresh-faced Root oversaw England’s last tour of Australia – which ended in a chastening 4-0 defeat – and admits planning is already underway for his team’s next Ashes trip.
Asked how much thought he had given the series, Root said: ‘Plenty. There’s no point hiding from it or trying to make it look like we’re not focused heavily on it, because we are.
‘A lot of thought and planning has gone in. That doesn’t mean we’re not looking into what’s coming up and, while they’re not similar conditions, some of the challenges we’ll face this winter will stand us in good stead when it comes to walking out at The Gabba.
‘Guys will be readying themselves for that, the opportunity of a lifetime.’
As with the last Ashes series, there is a major global event scheduled before England’s next tour of Australia, when Eoin Morgan’s white-ball squad will attempt to pull off the double by adding the T20 World Cup trophy to their 50-over one.
Only a few of England’s current Test team also play for the T20 side and Root says his charge will not be able to use the World Cup as an excuse to underperform Down Under.
‘It was difficult last time, with the World Cup but there’s no excuses this time,’ the 29-year-old said.
‘We have a good chance to build up for it. Get it right and we could be in a really strong place going out there.’
Barring any mishaps, Root will have captained England more than 50 times by the time the 2021-21 Ashes series begins and admits a ‘huge amount has changed’ since he led the team in Australia four years ago.
He added: ‘I was still getting to grips with the role at that point and, off the back of it, had quite a difficult year.
‘In the last year and a half we’ve really settled on something that’s given us something to draw back to and compare ourselves against, rather than just thinking about outcomes all the time.
‘We’ve seen good progression and it will be tested again in the new year against Sri Lanka and India, but that’s exciting.
‘If we keep improving it’s another string to our bow when it comes to Australia. It’s just the next challenge, the next part of the journey.
‘I feel we’re a side that’s getting better and that excites me more than anything else. As long as we keep improving in the right way, that’s my main focus.’
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