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Disappointed with the team's performance, England skipper Joe Root came on heavily on his team and insisted everyone to rise above the occasion while not repeating the basic mistakes in the third Ashes Test match in Melbourne, starting from December 26. Notably, the visitors are trailing 2-0 in the five Test match series, after a 275-run defeat in the day-night Test in Adelaide followed by a nine-wicket loss in Brisbane.
Joe Root reportedly slammed the players and was quoted by saying that, "I'm not someone that's going to stand there and make excuses about the lack of preparation. The fact is, the mistakes that we've made have been, I don't think they've been intricate little things. They've been quite basic ones. In many ways, there's nothing to lose. We have to go out there and win. And I've got a sense that everyone's in the right frame of mind to do that."
I like to give our senior bowlers responsibility: Root
Root added, "The third Test is going to be a special match and the one where all the players would like to be involved." He also emphasized on the fact that it's a great opportunity to shut all the critics and do "something special." Meanwhile, Root didn't shy away from saying that, "I like to give our senior bowlers responsibility. They've got over 300 Tests and over 1000 wickets between them. They know what they are doing. They are highly skilled bowlers, wonderfully talented players that time and time again have put in big performances for us."
"So it's about working alongside them, it's not a dictatorship. Every now and again, you don't always agree on everything. And that's fine. Ultimately it's about coming to a point where you get the results you want," Root concluded.
Notably, England are in a do or die situation in Melbourne after having suffered two successive losses in the first two Tests. The lost the first Test at Gabba by nine wickets. Thereafter, they faced an embarrassing loss of 275-runs in the day night Test in Adelaide.