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

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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