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Joe Root believes England are ready to end their decade-long Ashes drought and “bring the urn home”, insisting his own quest for a century in Australia is a side issue.
England have not won their most prized series since 2015 and last triumphed Down Under in 2010-11, a year before Root played the first of his 158 Tests.
Root himself is yet to win a single match in Australia in 14 attempts and, despite boasting 39 career hundreds, is still waiting to bring up his first in the country.
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Joe Root is waiting for that first century in Australia despite his huge number of Test runs
Australia’s past players and media outriders have already put that issue on the agenda, Matthew Hayden most gratuitously in pledging to walk out naked at the MCG if he fails to notch a ton.
But for Root, that is a distraction from the tourist’s wider goal and he is confident they have never had a better chance.
“At the end of the day this tour is not about me,” said Root. “They are going to say what they want to say anyway, so why bother worrying about it? It doesn’t make a huge amount of difference.
“When we look back in five years’ time no-one is going to remember what Matthew Hayden said to me, or Greg Blewett, or Mark Waugh, whoever it is. They are going to look back on the scoreline and think that it’s a historic England win or not.
“If I am scoring runs and scoring heavily it gives us a great opportunity to win a series out in Australia and that is the main focus.
“It does feel like a long time and it’d be nice to put that right and bring the urn home. I just see it as a great opportunity for the group.
“There’s no other way to look at it, really. It’s a beautiful country, it’s a great place to go and play cricket. Just soak it all in and expect a little bit of ‘abuse’ or ‘banter’. It could be six weeks that live long in the memory if we get it right.”
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Root was at a Chance to Shine RBC skills day for schoolgirls in Leeds.
One thing that already appears to be trending in England’s direction is the fitness of the rival captains.
While the news from Australia suggests Pat Cummins is facing a gloomy outlook – likely to miss the series opener in Perth on November 21 and with further uncertainty for the remainder – Root is tipping Ben Stokes to come out all guns blazing.
Stokes was back to his all-round best against India this summer until a shoulder injury ruled him out of the deciding Test, but he has been working tirelessly behind the scenes to be back at the peak of his powers for what could be the biggest series of his life.
“He’ll be ready,” said Root, speaking at a Chance to Shine RBC skills day for schoolgirls in Leeds.
“You look at him when he’s been running around at different county ground and you see he’s making sure he’s absolutely ready. I’ve never seen him making so sure he’s done absolutely everything he can to be as fit as he can possibly be, as mentally ready, as hungry as he is.
“He spent six months getting himself back and doing absolutely everything to be in peak condition this summer. He threw everything into it, physically and emotionally, and he’ll make sure he does exactly the same for this winter. That is for sure.
“As a player alone, I think it’s going to be huge that he’s out there, fit and he’s firing, but more so as a leader. To have someone that is willing to push themselves to those lengths is clearly a huge strength of his and a big part of his leadership.
“It can be quite infectious and guys want to pay that back in their own way, through their own performances and putting themselves through similar kinds of hardship for the guys around them.
“His mentality in bringing the best out of the players around him is another reason to be extremely excited about what’s to come.”
Joe Root was speaking as a brand ambassador for RBC Wealth Management, who are the Community Leadership Partner of children’s cricket charity Chance to Shine.