Ashes: Attitude on Day 5 was brilliant, just need more of it, says Joe Root
Dec 20, 2021
Adelaide [Australia], December 20 : England skipper Joe Root feels that the team's attitude was quite brilliant on Day 5 of the second Ashes Test at the Adelaide Oval.
Jhye Richardson scalped five wickets in the second innings as Australia defeated England by 275 runs in the second Ashes Test. With this win, Australia has gained a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. The Boxing Day Test will begin on December 26 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
"I am fine. It was rough day (yesterday), feel a bit better today (smiles). When we look at ball in hand, I don't think we bowled the right lengths, we needed to bowl fuller. As soon as we did that in the second innings, we made it harder for them. It's disappointing because we made the same mistakes that we made four years ago. We could have bowled better and should have batted better. We have to be (confident) about turning things around. I'm confident that we have all that we need to win here. Just need to stop repeating the same mistakes," Root said after the game.
"We have to get through that first 20 minutes and then go greedy, need to leave better as well. Need to also manage certain passages of play better. Certainly capable of it. Yes, that's the attitude (Buttler's defiance) we needed to harness through the whole game. I feel we competed in patches, but we need to fight the whole game. That's what is needed to win here. The attitude today was brilliant. We just need to do more of it. I expect us to have that mentality for the rest of the series," he added.
Resuming the final session on Day 5 at 180/8, England was given a body blow almost immediately as Jhye Richardson dismissed Jos Buttler (26). The Three Lions' wicketkeeper's 207-ball stay came to an unfortunate end as he was hit wicket.
The final wicket of James Anderson (2) was taken by Richardson and Australia registered an emphatic win in the second Test.
On Sunday, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, and Jhye Richardson were the standout performers as Australia gained full control on the second Test.
