"This tour is not about me making 100": Joe Root on crucial milestone during away Ashes tour

London [UK], September 25 (ANI): Ahead of his side’s tour to Australia for the away Ashes series, England’s premier batter Joe Root, who is yet to score a century Down Under, said that the tour is not about him reaching the much-awaited milestone, rather the focus is on winning the Ashes series and hopefully getting a century while winning matches for his side.

The upcoming away Ashes series against Australia, starting from November 21 at Perth, will be crucial both for England’s ‘Bazball’ school of cricket, which focuses on attacking, being result-oriented and positive and Root, who, despite his red-hot run in Tests during this decade and being the second-highest run-getter in the format with 13,543 runs and 39 centuries, has never managed a century in Australia. Achieving a Test ton in Australia and an Ashes series win to top it all off could elevate Root’s legacy aplenty.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Root said, “This tour is not about me making 100. It is about us going and winning an Ashes series. As an experienced player, if I go out and make big scores and big 100s, then that gives us a great opportunity to go and do that.”

“It is understanding that role within the team, building those big scores together as a group, like we have done over the course of the summer and the last couple of years. Then, hopefully, that leads to winning cricket games. If personal accolades come along, then fine,” he added.

In Australia, Root is not only winless in 14 previous Tests against the Aussies, but he has not scored the way he would have liked, having made nine half-centuries at an average of 35.68 and scored 892 runs in 14 matches and 27 innings. With his best score being 89 and having three scores of 80s, the veteran has been unlucky to miss out on the milestone in some of the toughest conditions to bat in.

During the last tour to Australia during 2021-22, when England were thrashed 4-0, Root top-scored for the side with 322 runs in five matches and 10 innings at an average of 32.20, with three fifties. He was the third-highest run-getter overall.

Root is the 17th-highest run-getter in all-time Ashes charts with 2,428 runs in 34 Tests and 65 innings at an average of 40.46, with four centuries and 18 fifties. His best score is 180. In the last Ashes series played at home back in 2023, Root scored 412 runs at an average of 51.50, with a century and two half-centuries to his name in nine innings, emerging as the third-highest run-getter in the series. The series ended in a two-all draw.

The Ashes series in Australia will be an extremely crucial one for England. For England, this will be their chance to win the first away Ashes series since 2011 and their first overall since 2015.

England squad for The Ashes series against Australia: Ben Stokes (c), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Mark Wood. (ANI)

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