Brisbane: England captain Joe Root on Saturday declared that he had no regrets over his decisions in selection and at the toss for England’s opening Ashes defeat to Australia at the Gabba, and believes he must continue to make “brave” calls if his team are to get back into the series.
“I think batting first was the right decision if you look at how the wicket has unfolded. Being 40 for 4 makes it not look the case. But it did dent, it did quicken up and we showed we could create chances on that second day. As we saw today [Saturday], it did start misbehaving a little,” Root said.
England’s decision to go into the opening Test without their two greatest wicket-takers proved contentious, and costly. England had been behind the game from the very first ball when, after Root opted to bat first, Rory Burns was bowled by Mitchell Starc for a golden duck. England were dismissed for 147 under slate skies, before Australia racked up 425.
“If we got 250 in the first innings, the game looks very different altogether. I look back on the toss and I would have done the same thing. Speaking to Pat [Cummins Australian captain], he would have done the same thing and batted first. I’m not too worried about that. Ultimately when you are 40 for four in the first innings, it’s very difficult to get back into the game.” he added.
Root said setting a more defensive field would have helped Leach gain some confidence and further ease into the series. “I put a lot of that on myself made it very difficult for him and it’s probably more on my shoulders than looking at the selection,” he said.
Left-arm spinner Leach’s place in the starting XI was only confirmed at the coin toss, with England hoping to get a more varied attack by leaving out their gun players of the first Test. England wasn’t defending many runs, having lost a wicket on the first ball of the series and been dismissed for 147 just before heavy rain ended play on Day 1.
“If we go about things the way we did on the last two tours we’ll get the same result. We have to be brave. I look back and think (batting) was the right decision. In terms of selection, we could have gone a different way (but) we wanted variety in our attack and ways of changing things.” the 30 year old concluded.
