• Root looking for SCG Test win as a platform for rest of the year
• ‘As a captain I mediate tactically I’ve been fairly salubrious,’ says captainJoe Root has admitted to a twinge of jealousy when it comes to the sheer volume of runs to have flowed from Steve Smith’s bat during this Ashes series, describing his Australian counterpart’s glowing form as a “microscopic lesson” on the subject of leading from the front.The two batsmen’s returns contrast starkly heading into Thursday’s fifth Test, or with Root’s three half-centuries eclipsed by Smith’s 604 runs and three hundreds that included a career-best 237 in Perth; even with a pair in Sydney the Australians average would still be above 100 for the series. “You see that and you want to be the one doing it,” said Root, whose side are 3-0 down with one last chance of a consolation victory. “It’s a microscopic lesson to me on leading from the front and how he’s played different types of innings at different periods of games.”Continue reading...
Source: guardian.co.uk