Ashes Hobart Test: England will play for ‘fight and pride’- England will be looking for a consolation victory in the fifth & final Ashes Test. The visiting skipper Joe Root Wednesday called on his team to harness the “fight and pride” they showed in salvaging a draw in Sydney. He wants the players to use it as a catalyst for change but England are racing against time to get players fit for the final showdown in Pink-Ball Day/Night Test. Follow Ashes LIVE updates on InsideSport.IN
Ashes Hobart Test: Joe Root declares, England will play for ‘fight and pride’ in fifth & Final Test
The tourists staved off Australia’s victory push on Sunday with Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad batting out two tense final overs to deny Australia a fourth straight Test win in the lopsided series.
Root said the way his men clung on to avoid defeat had given them a platform for the day-night Test at Hobart starting Friday.
“On the back of three very difficult games where we underperformed … to come back and get something from the last game showed a great amount of character and something definitely for us to build on moving forward,” he said.
But Root, England most capped skipper after breaking Alastair Cook’s record when he led his team out for a 60th time in Sydney, said they must now show the same character from the first ball and not allow Australia to take control.
“There was an element of relief managing to get through those last few overs but the desire, the fight and the pride that everyone showed on that last day is something we have to harness,” he said.
“We have to play like that more frequently through the five days, not just on the last day when everything is on the line, trying to get something from the game, but from ball one.
“We’ve proven to ourselves that we can do it, now can we take it a step further? That’s what we have to build on, that’s what we have to take from the last game and into this one.”
England head into the finale of their gruelling tour with injury concerns.
Wicketkeeper Jos Buttler has already left Australia with a fractured finger while experienced pair Jonny Bairstow (thumb) and Ben Stokes (side strain) are racing the clock to be fit.
Root said it was too early to tell if Bairstow and Stokes would be ready, with Sam Billings, Ollie Pope and Dan Lawrence potential replacements.
“We have to see where they are at, what their bodies can handle,” he said.
“We need to make sure they are physically in a place where they can get through five days of hard cricket.
“It’s all right being fit to play but you’ve got to be fit to perform and that’s what we’ve got to work out.”
Ashes Hobart Test: Joe Root declares, England will play for ‘fight and pride’ in fifth & Final Test
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