Joe Root says he would take England team over the Australian XI despite paltry Cricket World Cup return
source : www.abc.net.au
Joe Root says he would beat England’s failing XI “man for man… any day” with the Australians ahead of their crucial Cricket World Cup match on Saturday evening.
Most important points:
- Australia will play England in Ahmedabad on Saturday evening
- England are at the bottom of the ladder with just one win in five games
- Defeat will end England’s World Cup defense
England are at the bottom of the ladder with just one win from five matches, while Australia are in third place and have a good chance of reaching the semi-finals.
Should Australia beat the defending champions in Ahmedabad on Saturday evening, England’s World Cup defense will officially be over.
“Man for man I would take this team over the Australians any day,” former skipper Root told the BBC.
“We may not have played as well as we could, but when we play our best stuff, the best teams struggle to compete with us.
“We have to remember that and take that into the coming days, both in physical training and mentally, to make sure we are in that frame of mind to take on Australia, and that’s what it’s all about for us now .”
In Adam Zampa, Australia has the second highest wicket-taker for the tournament with 16 from six matches, while England’s best is the now injured Reece Topley with eight.
David Warner has scored 413 runs in the tournament so far, with two hundreds and a 50 to his name in six innings.
That is more runs than England openers Dawid Malan (236) and Jonny Bairstow (141) have achieved together.
England have failed to complete 50 overs with the bat in their last four matches, scoring just 215, 170, 156 and 129 in consecutive matches, including a crushing defeat to Afghanistan and a humiliating thrashing at the hands of South Africa . .
Australia, who beat New Zealand in a high-scoring thriller last time out, will be without Glenn Maxwell and Mitch Marsh on Saturday, with Maxwell suffering a concussion after falling from a golf buggy and Marsh heading home for personal reasons.
The Aussies lost their first two matches of the tournament against India and South Africa but are unbeaten in their last four, but Root said it would be a good time to play their old rivals.
“It’s a great opportunity to get back to what we expect of ourselves, the levels we set for ourselves, the levels that are also expected externally,” Root said.
“We are a much better side than what we have shown.
“This situation has been unique in many ways.
“On other tours, on previous Ashes, other things have happened outside of the gigs that had a huge effect on how we played. This doesn’t compare to those experiences.”
The match at the 132,000-capacity Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will be the first time the two sides have met since the bitter Ashes series earlier this year, which still has a lot of tension.
In excerpts from a new book about Bazball, Jonny Bairstow said Australia claimed illegal catches during the Ashes and that his controversial stumping by Alex Carey in the second Test set a bad example for children.
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source : www.abc.net.au
