Joe Root: Ashley Giles says England reclaiming Ashes in Australia is captain's 'holy grail'

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Joe Root and England coach Chris Silverwood
Joe Root (left) became England Test captain in 2017, while Chris Silverwood was appointed as head coach in October

England Test captain Joe Root has been backed to "lead and win in Australia" by director of men's cricket Ashley Giles as they try to reclaim the Ashes.

Australia left England with the urn for the first time since 2001 this summer, while the 28-year-old also presided over a 4-0 loss down under in 2017-18.

Root has said he and new coach Chris Silverwood are "aligned" on a two-year plan to win back the Ashes in 2020-21.

"That's the 'holy grail' for him," said Giles.

Speaking to the BBC's Test Match Special, Giles added: "Going to Australia and winning is the big prize, and we have enough time to plan for that.

"We have talked about him leading and winning in Australia. We've not said: 'Maybe if you get there.' We plan for him to be our captain.

"None of us know what is around the corner. Things can change quickly, but in our planning when we sat down [before the 2019 Ashes series], we were looking to Australia.

"This is a really exciting period, this new relationship with Chris Silverwood. With these two, we've talked about them finding a DNA for Test cricket.

"What do they want their Test team to look like? I don't think we've seen that for a couple of years now."

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131 comments

  • Holy Grail - then pick the best batters and keeper and not your mates.

  • The 2009-2013 group had it nailed. It was boring at times but batting long (cook, Strauss, trott) with exciting middle order players and being patient with the ball (broad, Anderson, Swann, Bresnan) will always be a winning formula and it’s bizarre we’ve had to work this out again

  • Dear BBC, we haven't had any articles about "The Hundred" in a while...is everything ok?

  • I know it is an obvious comment but two matches against a very entertaining New Zealand team is just wrong. It looks patronising at best - especially given that Test championship points are not up for grabs. New Zealand deserve 3 or 4 Test matches per series as the cricket is always stimulating and, crucially, competitive.

  • He best stand down and just bat then

  • Root needs to give up on getting his mates in the team when their form doesn't deserve it then.

  • It shouldn't just be Root's Holy Grail, it should be the Holy Grail for the whole of ECB.

    ECB's overriding objective should be to win back all the respect they have lost as a Test team. They've sacrificed the red-ball game on the immoral altar of white-ball money. But their duty is not specifically to the white ball game, but the whole game, and red-ball cricket is essential to that.

  • I'd worry about New Zealand first, they're a very handy side, especially at home.

  • Hey Root, before you grab that Holy Grail, how about focusing on New Zealand? You know, the imminent Test series? How about some focus on the here and now and showing a little more respect to the country you're about to play?

  • HE should concentrate on his batting first in test matches before anything else,imo a bad choice for captain seeing as he's our best player and his form has suffered plus being saved by stokes

  • The first thing they need to sort out is the wicket-keeping. Neither Bairstow nor Buttler are good enough at Test level and don't appear to be improving. The runs saved by taking catches, stumpings and run outs are vitally important and both make too many errors. Hopefully Silverwood, being a bowler will realise the value of a competent glove man and bring in Foakes for South Africa.

  • Only Test cricket matters..rest is just noise. We've not got the team to play this format.

  • Root could just about reclaim 5p off per litre at Tesco with a voucher - that's about it.

    This team has been saved by the bowling unit and good all-rounder performances for too long.

  • The Ashes tour schedule must incorporate several, proper, competitive four day matches well ahead of the 1st Test - if it doesn't - forget it. The conditions are so alien that a strong Aussie side with Smith at the helm once more will win comfortably again.

  • @64 boating-voter

    'investigative reporting of the kind that made the BBC famous' - this is long gone! BBC online (especially BBC Sport) is no better than a channel for shameless promotion of its own media content and that of its partners. It cares only about engagement, clicks and showing its partners how on-side it is; journalism, integrity, and credibility has been long-since abandoned.

  • Forget the Ashes for the moment. Just beat New Zealand. Disrespectful to be talking about something in two years time when we are just about to play a more than decent side. Suddenly feel NZ will win now.

  • WarleyBear @45

    I think we've covered this before.

    The counties' current dependency on ECB money (gained by selling its soul to the white-ball devil) is purely down to ECB malfeasance (bullying/hegemony) The counties & 1st-class game are not inherently unviable, it's just that ECB made them so by deliberately screwing the county calendar.

    Is this, now, a Damascene conversion?

  • Right, so what Giles is saying is that Root will spend his career trying to attain something that is unobtainable.

    That's not very encouraging.

  • Well the the notion certainly has a hint of Monty Python’s holy grail about it. Root has a better chance of converting a 50 than taking the Ashes off the Aussies down under.

  • Maybe focus on the next series against SA than talk about Ashes 2 years away..so I guess all loses between now and then will be attributed to "building for the Ashes".

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