Australia’s Scott Boland admits Joe Root remains the most prized wicket in England’s Ashes line-up, regardless of his ongoing search for a first century Down Under.
Despite boasting more than 13,000 Test runs – more than any other active cricketer and second only to Sachin Tendulkar on the all-time list – Perth’s West Australian newspaper welcomed Root’s arrival in the country with a front page splash dubbing him “Average Joe”.
Such jibes are built around the fact that he has yet to reach three figures in 14 matches in the country but, with the series opener just four days away, Boland made it clear there is nothing but respect for Root in the home dressing room.
“I think you always want to try and take down the best players,” said the veteran seamer, who is set to stand in for injured captain Pat Cummins on Friday.
“In the past when Joe Root was captain you always wanted to try and take (him) down…make sure they have as little impact as you can.
“Obviously England have quite a few good batters but hopefully we can keep Joe Root and the guys in the middle order quiet.”
Since his last tour of Australia, when he captained England to a 4-0 defeat, Root has scored 16 centuries and averaged 57.14, making himself a fixture at number one in the ICC batting rankings.
And former team-mate Stuart Broad is tipping him to weigh in heavily over the next eight weeks – particularly with Cummins missing the start.
Cummins has dismissed Root 11 times in Tests, joint most of any bowler in the world alongside India’s Jasprit Bumrah.
Broad, who will be commentating on the series for Channel 7, told The Nightly newspaper: “I think this is his best opportunity to deliver big runs.
“I think the one thing that Joe will be absolutely delighted with, and he would never say this himself, is the fact that Pat Cummins is missing the first Test. I think that’s a really big match up.
“He’s got the sort of action I think Joe just finds quite difficult to line up. If Joe could have picked one player for Australia to have missing at Perth, it would be Pat Cummins.
“The Australian press has this question mark that he’s not scored a hundred in Australia. That question will be asked of him and everyone around him every day until he does. Joe would do England the world of good to get a hundred at Perth and put all those sort of question marks to bed.”
Boland, meanwhile, has suggested that England’s batters could find it difficult to translate their big-hitting style to the larger outfields in Australia.
The tourists’ top seven have become known for swinging for the fences but those fences sit a long way back at venues like the 60,000 capacity Perth Stadium.
“I’m sure it will help us. Balls that would go over the fence in England have got a long way to go at grounds like here, the MCG and the Gabba,” he said.
“The same thing is going to help their bowlers, when they’re bowling short balls you’ve got to hit it 85 metres rather than 65 metres. It’s a big difference.”
PA
