Joe Root is preparing for the third Test of the Ashes series, which begins on Boxing Day in Melbourne. The match and his performance in the upcoming Test is especially important considering it is a must-win encounter if England is to win the series, or at least manage a draw.
Australia currently have a 2-0 lead over England in the 5-match Test series and it would turn into an unassailable one if they also win at the MCG. However, Root is backing himself to contribute in turning things around for England in the match. Root is yet to score a century in Australia where he averages under 40, significantly below his overall Test average of 50.01. His 89 at Brisbane earlier in the series is surprisingly his best score in Australia. Apart from that, Root got 62 in Adelaide.
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“I feel confident I can, in these next three games, bang out a hundred in these conditions,” Root was quoted as saying by Sky Sports.
He continued, “I know that’s a brave thing to say but my conversion rate this year, it’s not been an issue at all. I have an understanding of how I want to score my runs. There’s clarity there, I just need to keep putting myself in those positions, just have the bit between my teeth.”
He has already amassed an English record of 1,630 test runs in 2021, and stood at the top of the Test rankings before Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne replaced him following the second red-ball game.
The Yorkshire batter is on the cusp of becoming the format’s leading run-getter in a calendar year. With 1,630 runs, he only needs 159 more at the MCG to beat Mohammad Yousuf’s 1788. Moreover, England needs a miraculous turnaround to reclaim the Ashes urn in the last three Tests scheduled at MCG, SCG and WACA.
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