AUS vs ENG 2018: Joe Root Delighted With Change of Fortunes in Australia
With England successfully managing to turn the tables on Australia following the disastrous Ashes outing, Joe Root has expressed his delight.
England was thoroughly outplayed in the five-Test series, losing the series 4-0. Joe Root & Co. had looked clueless against the high-flying hosts and had ended up conceding the urn.
However, the fortunes have changed in the ongoing One-Day International series with England winning the first two games quite comfortably. In the first ODI at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia had piled up 304, but the score did not turn out to be enough, as Jason Roy’s stunning career-best 180-run knock helped the visitors chase down the total inside 49 overs.
In the second game, which took place on Friday (January 19), Australia scored 270 for six but once again failed to defend the total from the formidable English batting lineup. The hosts managed to dismiss Jason Roy cheaply, but half-centuries from Jonny Bairstow and Alex Hales and an unbeaten knock of 46 from Joe Root helped England to chase down the total inside the 45th over.
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“Yeah it’s obviously nice, it’s a lot nicer than the other way around,” Root said.
“It’s naturally a great driver coming from a difficult series like that, and that’s the sort of thing as a batsman you pride yourself on, making sure that you’re the one that gets the job done.It’s very pleasing to be a part of that, but ultimately as a side, we’re playing some great cricket.
“Nobody stood out today (in Brisbane) like Jason Roy did in the first game (scoring 180), but that just shows the strength of our side,” added Root who was awarded the Man of the Match award for his all-round show.
Root, who picked up two wickets in the game including the prized scalp of Steven Smith, stopped short of saying Australia was now playing catch-up in the ODIs, having won just one of their past ten completed ODIs and instead praised his side for coming up with clinical performances.
“I don’t think that’s the right way to put it; I think we’ve played really well these two games. I think it was a great effort from our bowling unit and we were very clinical with the bat. There were a few hairy moments, but we kept our composure and made sure we got the job done,” he said.
Meanwhile, England would be looking to wrap up the series on Sunday when they take on the struggling hosts in the third ODI in Sydney.
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