| Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground Date: 26-30 December Time: 23:30 GMT (25-29 December) |
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England captain Joe Root says he will “bang out a hundred” as the tourists plot an Ashes fightback in the Boxing Day Test.
Having lost the opening two Tests of the five-match series in Brisbane and Adelaide, England must win the final three matches, starting in Melbourne on Sunday, to regain the Ashes.
And Root says he hopes to deliver England fans a late Christmas present.
“I feel in a really good place with my batting,” said Root.
“I feel confident I can, in these next three games, bang out a hundred in these conditions. I know that’s a brave thing to say but my conversation rate, this year, it’s not been an issue at all.
“I expect a response from our players and I would like to bring a nice Christmas present home for everyone who stays up.
“There is plenty of motivation for the group and we are doing everything we can to make sure it is 2-1 by the time we leave here.
“If we perform anywhere like we can do, we’ll put them in an uncomfortable position, we’ll push back and we’ll find ourselves in a very different situation leaving this ground.”
So far in the series, the Yorkshireman has scored two half-centuries, including a top score of 89 in England’s second innings in the first Test.
Root has enjoyed a record-breaking 2021, with his haul of 1,630 Test runs making him the leading Englishman and fourth on the all-time list over a calendar year.
“I have an understanding of how I want to score my runs,” he added. “There’s clarity there, I just need to keep putting myself in those positions, just have the bit between my teeth.”
Root has scored six centuries since January but he will be chasing a first Ashes Test ton on Australian soil at the MCG.
He will be aiming to regain the spot for number one Test batter in the world after he was leapfrogged by Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne last week.
“I’ve never been one for that stuff, but it would be nice to have it back for Christmas,” he said.
