Joe Root was a late arrival on the final day of England’s failed Ashes campaign following a morning in hospital being treated for symptoms of viral gastroenteritis – vomiting and diarrhoea – and the effects of extreme temperatures in Sydney 24 hours earlier.
The England captain was unable to resume his innings of 42 not out first thing, having endured a punishing fourth day, in which Australia declared on 649 for seven and his side closed on 93 for four in their second innings – still 210 runs behind – and a record high of 47.3C (117.1F) was recorded in the city.
Root, bidding to stave off a 4-0 Ashes defeat, had spent almost the entire previous day on the field and was also nursing a suspected broken finger following a blow from Pat Cummins. He did bat on the final day, taking the place of Moeen Ali after he had been bowled lbw by Nathon Lyon and going on to score his fourth half-century of the series, alongside Jonny Bairstow. England were on 133 for five after 50 minutes of play.
Whatever the result of the fifth Test, England’s planning for their next tour to Australia in four years’ time must begin as soon as possible following a chastening Ashes defence that Paul Farbrace, the assistant coach, conceded has exposed mental frailties among the squad.
“A series like this does expose issues in your team,” Farbrace said. “And we have a choice. You either churn out some positive stuff or be honest and say that there are certain areas that are not good enough. That’s every single one of us – players, staff, structures, set-up. Everybody needs to look very closely and ask if we have got the right people in the right places.”
Australia’s monster first-innings total was the fifth time in the past two years that England have conceded 600 runs or more away from home, highlighting deficiencies in the bowling attack when faced with a flat pitch and opponents willing to play a ruthless long game. They are set to go the entire series without having taken 20 wickets in a Test.
Root’s batsmen have wilted over the course of this series in comparison with their opponents, with only three Test hundreds to Australia’s nine. Though Dawid Malan has emerged as competent at Test level, James Vince and Mark Stoneman have produced only two half-centuries apiece over the course of the campaign – returns that Farbrace rightly pointed out simply do not cut it.
He said: “Nice periods of play and brief glimpses do not win you Test matches and they certainly don’t win you Test series in a place like this. If England are serious about coming back here and winning in four years’ time, the planning needs to start in the next couple of days. You need to start identifying the type of personnel, character-wise and skill-wise, to come here and win.”
“I think the majority of the game is mental issues when it comes to Test cricket. It has to be. Players have the technique and the game. It is about adapting and coping under pressure. Their four bowlers have given us no let off at any stage.”
On Vince, who nicked off in predictable fashion for 18 on the fourth evening to end his series with an average of 27, Farbrace added: “He’s shown some decent starts, some glimpses.” Vince will wait to see if he will be selected for the Test tour to New Zealand. The selectors are expected to announce their squad on Tuesday on Tuesday – the right-hander has been given a chance in the Twenty20 set-up for the tri-series that follows the one-day series this month.
Moeen Ali and Jonny Bairstow have been rested but Root, who plays under the captaincy of Eoin Morgan in the limited overs formats, will feature in the round-robin tournament with Australia and New Zealand that starts against the former in Hobart on 7 February. Ben Stokes is named in the squad but, as it stands, will not travel due to his legal situation.
