Joe Root expects England’s Test team to put right the wrongs of last year and has tipped the recalled Gary Ballance – the first big decision of his own fledgling captaincy – to demonstrate he is a different player to the one dropped from the side last winter.
A slight cold aside, the 26-year-old Root’s first pre-match press conference before Thursday’s series opener with South Africa was typically upbeat, and was spent fielding questions about plans for the new era and the decision to bring back his Yorkshire team-mate Ballance at No3 in a move that sees the captain himself drop down a spot in the batting order.
Ballance comes into the side after averaging 101 in the County Championship for what is his third stab at Test cricket. Root, who has waited five months to take charge after Alastair Cook stepped down in February, has seen the left-hander’s resurgence at close quarters. “A lot of people asked questions about the last time he played for England but I look at his game now, as do the other selectors, and he is a completely different player. He is desperate to prove a point and score some runs in this series,” he said.
Root also confirmed that Liam Dawson, Hampshire’s spin-bowling all-rounder, will bat at No8 and thus Toby Roland-Jones will have to wait for his debut, and targeted an upturn in fortunes for a side who lost a record-equalling eight Tests last year to expedite Cook’s resignation. Root said: “I wouldn’t have taken the job on if I didn’t think I was capable of doing it and capable of taking the side forward. We had a tough year last year but I think the squad is very settled, has learned a lot from that and is ready to put that right this year.”
Asked about his return to No4 and how leadership will affect his batting, Root replied: “I can’t see how I’ll approach batting differently. I’ve prepared as I’d normally do for any other Test. I need to make sure I make the most of the opportunities to score runs and knowing that, if I concentrate hard, and go about my business as I have previously, then that will put me in a really good place to go on and score big runs.”
On his partnership with Ben Stokes, the new vice-captain, Root added: “He’s always been a bit of an attack dog in whatever side he’s played in. I see him as a feisty character who is desperate to do well and naturally he’s very good at setting the tone and the example.”
Root is not the only first-time captain on show. Dean Elgar steps up for South Africa with Faf du Plessis yet to return from home following the birth of his first child. Elgar, who played the first half of the season at Somerset and averaged 47, sees the pressure on his opposite number.
“It is a good opportunity for us to try and make a dent,” he said. “[England] have their own insecurities with new leadership, a few new faces in the batting lineup and a few injury concerns.”
Teams
England: Cook, Jennings, Ballance, Root (c), Bairstow (wk), Stokes, Moeen, Dawson, Wood, Broad, Anderson.
South Africa (probable): Elgar (c), Kuhn, Amla, Duminy, Bavuma, De Bruyn, De Kock, Maharaj, Rabada, Morkel, Philander.
