{"id":146439,"date":"2021-10-19T07:37:35","date_gmt":"2021-10-19T07:37:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=146439"},"modified":"2021-10-19T09:57:14","modified_gmt":"2021-10-19T09:57:14","slug":"heroics-root-must-match-as-ashes-bloodbath-looms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=146439","title":{"rendered":"Heroics Root must match as Ashes 'bloodbath' looms"},"content":{"rendered":"

England<\/a> are "a very poor Test side" and only stand a chance of clinching an unexpected Ashes<\/a> series win if captain Joe Root<\/a> matches the 2010-11 batting heroics of his predecessor, says Ed Cowan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The former Test opener has projected "a bloodbath" for an understrength England on their tour of Australia<\/a>, after gun all-rounder Ben Stokes<\/a>, spearhead Jofra Archer<\/a> and fast bowler Olly Stone were ruled unavailable for selection.<\/p>\n

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Alastair Cook<\/a> wasn't England's captain when he toured Australia for the 2010-11 Ashes \u2013 Andrew Strauss was yet to hand over the reins \u2013 but the left-handed opener was in otherworldly form with the bat, compiling 766 runs at 127.66, including a top score of 235 not out, to lead his side to a 3-1 win.<\/p>\n

Only Australia's Sir Donald Bradman<\/a> (1930) and Steve Smith<\/a> (2017-18) have averaged more runs from five Ashes Tests in the one series.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Root will need to produce an individual series with the blade of that calibre if the tourists are to win back the Ashes urn, Cowan believes.<\/p>\n

"When you go through that list there's maybe one batsman who you think could probably bat a day and score a hundred \u2013 and that's their captain (Root), who has traditionally struggled in Australia," Cowan said on The Grandstand Cricket Podcast.<\/p>\n

"He doesn't like the bounce of the ball, he's a brilliant player of spin, particularly in England and (on) the sub-continent, but has struggled with the pace in Australia… it's a massive tour for (Root).<\/p>\n

"If he does an Alastair Cook (in the 2010-11 Ashes) and scores 600 runs or 700 runs, it's a different series. But if he scores 250 runs, there's probably only going to be 18 or 19 days of Test cricket."<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

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While Root averages 50.15 from 109 Tests, the 30-year-old averages just 38 from nine Tests in Australia.<\/p>\n

The highest Test series average of the right-hander yet came against Sri Lanka<\/a> in January this year, when he averaged 106.5 from two matches in Galle.<\/p>\n

Cowan pointed out that Australia had batting problems of their own.<\/p>\n

The selectors are yet to settle on an opening partner for David Warner<\/a> and, while Travis Head has begun the Australian domestic season in superb touch<\/a>, he's shown technical flaws and a propensity to fall cheaply throughout his 19 Tests.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

But Cowan, who played 18 Tests for Australia between 2011 and 2013, is confident the hosts' bowling unit will steer them to victory.<\/p>\n

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"We're not talking about an Australian team that is brimming with batting that can bat them out of a game. The Aussies themselves have got some questions to answer, but they're going to be a better team than England," Cowan said.<\/p>\n

"There's no doubt about that.<\/p>\n

"Their bowling's going to be too good, we've got a high-class spinner, they don't.<\/p>\n

"So it just feels like it's going to be a bloodbath."<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

England are "a very poor Test side" and only stand a chance of clinching an unexpected Ashes series win if captain Joe Root matches the […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146439"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=146439"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146439\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":146441,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146439\/revisions\/146441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=146439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=146439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=146439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}