Root joins Hussain ahead of third Test in Adelaide!

0:00This episode of the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast is sponsored by Tourism Western Australia, a part of the world we love, isn't it, Ath? Sure is. We played and commentated there lots of times. It's always a place I've enjoyed going back to. How's your swimming, Nass? You ever gone snorkelling? I have, and Western Australia is the perfect spot for people who love being in the water. It is, in particular, the coral coast north of Perth, home to the crystal clear waters of the World Heritage listed Ningaloo Reef. You can go diving or snorkeling or even get out on a glass bottom boat. I've seen people swimming with whale sharks and hundreds of different types of tropical fish.

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1:14England have hope. Put the beer away. Put the champagne on ice. 24 years of pain in Australia. Finally, they're beaten at home by England. Well, here we are, sat at one of the great cricket grounds in the world, the Adelaide Oval. It's a coolish Adelaide day. The old scoreboard behind us. Joe, do you agree this is one of the special cricket grounds in the world? Definitely. I think it's a fantastic venue and a great opportunity for us to come out here and show our best stuff really. We've not been able to do that as yet but we know it's not far away and this is a perfect stage for us to go and hopefully go and deliver that.

1:56We'll come on to the Test Series in a while but let's look back. Adelaide, the city, has a lot of fond memories for you and a huge part of your development as a cricketer. You came here as a young 19-year-old. Tell us about those times. It was hard to remember, it was that long ago now. But yeah, about 15 years ago, I came here on the Darren Lehman Academy with a few of my peers, the likes of Scott Borfwick, Liam Norwell, James Taylor from Gloucester. And yeah, we've just got to grow up really, live in a different country, have to think for yourself a little bit more. And in terms of cricket, just to get exposed to different things, different conditions, different situations, be able to almost live a professional lifestyle.

2:44You're training every day of the week, playing on the weekends. You've got added responsibility of being an overseas pro and the expectation of trying to deliver on that every weekend. How did the cricket go? No, it was rubbish. It was rubbish. But in terms of my development as a player, it was really beneficial. I remember coming back and feeling ready for the county season and actually had a good season off the back of it, sort of a breakthrough year for me. So even though the results didn't come out on the field here, when I got back, the work that I'd done and the development I made to my own game was substantial and was a real platform for me to go on and do good things for Yorkshire.

3:28Development as a cricketer and as a person as well to take you out of that comfort zone, to have to do things for yourself to get you away from home. Do you agree? Yeah, and a number of guys go and do it. And I think we'll all agree that they benefit a huge amount from it, not just from a cricketing point of view, but just, you know, you have to think for yourself a little bit more. You know, you've got different responsibilities and different things you have to take care of. So certainly felt like it was a big development in all areas for me. And the coach at the Darren Lehman, One of the coaches at Darren Lehman Academy, Sean Seager, picked you up at the airport.

4:05He said he'd made that journey many a time and he asked you the question, what do you want, what do you want to be? And you said, I want to be an England cricketer. And he noted that you would work as hard as you possibly could to get that end goal. Yeah, I mean, I think it's no hiding. I've never been the most athletic or the most dynamic player. So there are other areas that I had to work hard at and make sure that I was almost ahead in those areas. I was always very small as a kid growing up, so my path and my route was slightly different. I had to think about the game slightly differently.

4:39I'd find different ways of scoring and manipulating the ball and learn to be patient because if I wanted to score runs, I'd have to do it for a long time. So I guess my journey was quite different to a number of my peers, but in some ways that was quite beneficial. And then when I did grow and get a bit stronger and all things that sort of came to me throughout my time here. It meant that I caught up in those areas, but I also had the benefit of having to think about the game slightly differently and had different, I guess, strengths that others might not have at that stage of their career. Prospect Cricket Club with Nathan Lyon.

5:15I read on Debbie, have I got this right? Travis Head, court route, bowl, Lyon, batting at number seven, got a 50. Can you remember that dismissal? I can't remember that at all, no. you didn't you didn't put yourself in at slip or something to Nathan Lyon did you surely well I've definitely tried I'd probably been at short cover or somewhere like that what was he like Nathan Lyon to play with he was really good actually um he'd come over from I think from Canberra ACT and he was he was working on the ground here so he wasn't even part of the South Australia side but he was keen he was you know desperate to to develop as a player and he'd made the move over here to I think really push his cricket but also got a great opportunity to work here and I think he was just knocking around doing the wickets at the the spare ground here Park 25 and they they were short of a net bowler so he came and bowled and they thought actually he's pretty good so they drafted him to the squad and by the end of the year he was the leading wicket taker in the big bash so did he get filthy back then when he got left out of the side to use his terminology he sort of left us for dead when he made it into the big time but he was really good with me actually throughout his time at the club he made me feel very welcome he looked after me in many ways took me out on trips and got me to see the city and actually throughout that time became pretty good mate so it's always nice to catch up with him and see what he's achieved in the game has been pretty special really so So, you know, really pleased that he's, to see where he's gone from and his journey to now is pretty surreal, really, that we were both in that side.

6:54And I think they'll be pretty disappointed that they didn't get any of the results out of us that we've probably given to England and Australia. Yeah, they may not have with you, but everyone you speak to about your time at Prospect talks about how you bought into the club. I think there was some Monday night club or something that you used to run that you used to organise various activities. but also the way you took the family that took care of you I think it was Tiffany Fisher the mum yeah you left her a nice little note didn't you saying thank you I don't know how I'll ever repay you for looking after me pretty special times yeah I mean like you say that you come over to play club cricket and a family has to give up their spare room almost and have to look after you and it's another mouth to feed and someone else to almost look after and worry about and they were very good at doing that.

7:40I made good friends with Jason, their son, who was similar sort of age to me, which was obviously great. And, you know, got on really well with the rest of the family as well, who were all, you know, lovely throughout my time here. So I felt very, very lucky that I'd sort of landed on my feet. I had a really nice family that looked after me, a place to stay, was just up the road, very convenient. But yeah, I'll be forever grateful for all that they did and all the club did really as well. and it wasn't the strongest team in that league, but everyone turned up every week with a smile on the face, gave everything they got, and we had a great time.

8:16So the fact that you're excited to turn up to training and you enjoy each other's company, it makes it so much more enjoyable when you're away from home, you're out of your comfort zone. So, yeah, a lot of very fond memories of this place, and hopefully I get to catch up with a few of those guys over the course of this week. It might be difficult with the schedule as it is and family here and stuff, but it'd be nice to bump into a few of them and say hi. And as ever, I think you've set up an academy here at the Adelaide Uni. Why have you done that? Well, you're always trying to give back and not just, I'm all right, Jack, attitude.

8:51I want to share the experiences that I got to have, really. We stole Sean Seager. He's involved with us now and does some brilliant work, all the stuff that I managed to go through. He can give that opportunity to the next generation, if you like, and I think as a player that's one of your responsibilities really is you want to leave the game in a better place in whatever way, shape or form that is whether that's in the dressing room and you're trying to give your insight, your advice your help to the guys around you and try and create a really good space for people to come in and flourish or whether it's a little bit lower than that you want guys to feel that there is a way to if you want to So you want to make sure that, first and foremost, it's an enjoyable thing for everyone to do.

9:39Not everyone's going to get the privilege of going on and playing professional sport, but you want them to enjoy and experience some things that they'll remember for the rest of their life. And that's one of the special things about sport. So the more opportunities you can create for people to have that, I think is really special. And if it's a small thing that you can do, then absolutely you should go out of the way and do it. OK, let's move on to the series, Ed. Otherwise, this sounds like an episode of This Is Your Life, and we're looking back at everything you've ever done. But you've had a few days in Noosa.

10:09Was that just about getting yourselves right mentally? I mean, physically, you've had six days of Test Match cricket. You recover from that. But mentally, just to sharpen up a little bit? I think so. I mean, from my perspective, my family flew out the last day of the game. So, you know, seven weeks away from your wife and your kids is quite a long time. So to get that chance to get away and be with family. but like in a home series you just want to be able to take your mind away from the game sometimes take a breath, come back, feel refreshed mentally and recharged so that you can give everything again for the next game and I think that's one thing that we wanted to get out of last week really was we knew what the schedule was going to be like coming into this series the last three were always going to be full on and you can almost pick yourself up just straight off, get back into it But almost the tricky bit about those weak layovers is the thinking time and making sure that you're preparing in the right way mentally.

11:10It's the most important part of test cricket. Everyone that plays at this level has got a serious amount of skill and ability. And everyone within that team has the qualities to go and win test matches and do individual things of brilliance which can turn a game. I think that's never going to be in question. the thing is making sure that you're mentally in the right space to go and deliver on that and I think having a bit of time away from cricket grounds and being in inner cities where it's very hustle and bustle is I think can be a really beneficial thing if it's done in the right way and I understand when you lose a couple of games there can be a slight misconception about what it might look like but ultimately you've got to prepare in a way which you know is going to benefit you and the team and give yourself the best chance of winning out here and we've got to win three games you know I think the whole complexion of the series changes if we win this week and the way the outlook on it will look very different I know it was in England in our own conditions but you saw the last time the way that we played from Headingley onwards it was like a completely different team and it's easy to forget that and the fact that we might be in different conditions but the game doesn't change if anything it becomes more simplified out here it doesn't swing as much the pitches don't deteriorate quite as differently as they or as much as they might in england so in many ways it's simplified and it's just remembering that understanding that and being i all we need to do is play a better be better for longer you know i think when we've got it right throughout this series we've looked very dangerous and um we've played some really good stuff but we've got to put it together for a long period of time going back to the time in Noosa no one needs reminding more than you about how important it is to get away from a bubble I mean you were captain last time out here in the Covid series and the Covid bubble and you must have seen how difficult that was for cricketers who could not escape mentally away from staying at grounds and staying in a bubble it is so important to get away from the game have something else in your life as well absolutely is um and i think that the hardest bit about that was it wasn't the first covid bubble that we were in it was the last you know we've done 20 odd test matches by that point which is probably 15 more than the next team next country so the guys were wiped out um you know we're turning up to games and there's four of our coaches not able they're in isolation for two weeks because they've got COVID.

13:50We've got players running the build-up to a test match. It was a bit of a shambles, really, and sort of not what you'd need. If you're looking at peak performance and high-quality international cricket, it shouldn't be like that. But that was the state of the times then. We did what we needed to do to try and get the best out of ourselves throughout that. But you could see the wear and tear that it took on players and coaches. and I think it's really important that there is some perspective that's kept like you're not always going to get it right as players and I know these guys are desperate to do that, we all are we're desperate to win every game that we play very passionate about playing for England and representing our country and delivering our best as often as we possibly can but it's not through lack of effort and it's not through lack of hard work it's sometimes just get it wrong we make mistakes and look not ask this isn't a stop so I'm not sat here with a little violin asking for people to feel sorry for us we we know how lucky we are and how good we've got it and but you're right you need to be able to switch off you need to be able to get away from the game so that you are mentally in the right frame of mind to compete and to be right at the top of your game as much as possible talking to mental toughness the captain who you know well, very close friend of yours, Ben Stokes, after the test said, Australia is no place for weak men and the dressing room and England dressing room, my England dressing room is no place for weak men.

15:26Was that just an off-the-cuff comment or do you think he was trying to send a message to the team, we need to be tougher because for everything you've said, key moments when the pressure has been on or even lifted in Perth when you're ahead of the game, you've not been ruthless enough. Was that a message to the team from the captain? I think it can be very difficult having been there a lot, especially after a loss. You can be very emotional and Ben had put everything into that week. You look at how much he bowled the mental fortitude and skill that he exerted batting and the way he threw everything into the game.

16:06I'm sure there was still a level of emotion still in what he said. I agree that this is a place where you've got to be very hardened you want to be successful here you have to be resilient and you have to be able to withstand pressure for long periods of time but I think this group is definitely capable of doing that and whether that was aimed at players individually I'm not so sure I do think though that it's a fair statement if you're going to win here you've got to handle those big moments. But there's no question that the guys are definitely good enough to do that. England fans would maybe pick you up on that and say, yeah, we have shown in the past we can handle big moments, but in this series, when the pressure's on, key moments, we have faded.

16:56Is that something you talk about as a team, or is that an individual thing, to be tough when it really matters? I think it's both, really. I think, well, obviously when you're out there in the field, then you're all in it together. You all have to pull each other through those moments. When it gets tough, people have to stand up individually, but collectively you've all got to show up. And I think it's important that we continue to look to do that. I also think it can be a very lonely place, cricket, sometimes. And you can feel like you're on your own. And I think it's really important that you remember you're always playing in partnerships, whether that's with the ball in hand or you're out there in the back.

17:32You've got to use each other's complementary skills and feed off each other. and I think that's got to be a big focus for us moving forward. We've got so many different methods and players within our team that complement each other brilliantly and it's easy to lose sight of that, especially under pressure. So making sure that collectively we're working well together and we're using each other's strengths. Look at Zach and Ben's record at the top of the order. I think they averaged nearly 50 as a pair and I think a big part of that is because of how different they play the game and how difficult it is for bowlers to consistently deliver their best ball.

18:05You've got someone that cuts it off the top of the stumps and someone that gets four metres down and drives it at the top of its bounce. So I think understanding each other and using that to our advantage is a really important part of how we can tackle these conditions, this situation. And remembering as well, we're not playing the series. We're not playing Pat Cummins or Mitchell Stoll. We're playing the ball that's coming down and we're playing that moment. And staying very present in that is a really important part of, I think, how we're going to be successful here. one of the lads that sort of epitomizes this side is harry brooke good and not so good you i remember you four or five years ago i was going from the oval to headingley for a blast game and i told you this and you pointed and wagged your finger at me and said hussein you need to be talking about harry brooke just a little bit more and that was before he put on an england shirt is he now playing exactly how you thought average 55 test test match vice captain captain of the white bull side is he pretty much what you saw a while ago yeah and more probably I always knew that he was a very talented player and that he was able to go on and do very special things for England but to be as consistent as he's been with that to go on an average over 55 in 30 test matches you're clearly a very good player and you've clearly got a very good mind you've got some resilience you've got strength of character and high levels of skill and we've certainly not seen the best of him in this series yet and I think there's a lot more to come from him and you know people will be disappointed with some of the dismissals that he may have had throughout this series but Harry Brook is a generational player and he is going to deliver at some point on this series you watch out he's he's a match winner and if he gets his you know himself in and set and at some point in this in this series he's going to go and do do something very special for us.

19:57If he did come up to you though and said Joe a bit of advice please I'm playing okay the dismissal against Mitchell Stark in twilight you're at the other end he nearly ran you out he was a bit dopey in that little period I know better than anyone about running between the wickets you gave him a couple of looks in his eyes saying Harry switch on here there was a single there but the dismissal there the dismissal second innings perf key moments should I play differently Joe if he was asking for your advice on how to play would you say don't change a thing? I'd say trust your instincts in the moment he's he's got a great cricket brain clearly it's a bit like Peterson you know he does things that other players can't do so you try and tell him to do something that doesn't come naturally to him I don't think you're going to get the best out of him I think you have to trust that he's going to make the right decision at any given moment when you've got the game that he has the ability he has and the skill level that he has you have to put trust and faith that they're going to make those right calls.

20:57And that's the reason why he averages 55 and why he's done so many special things in his short career till now is because of his mind and the way that he reads the game. And like everyone else, we've all made mistakes. You look at my two dismissals in that first test match or the three dismissals I've had in this series. They've not been... I mean, one might have been a reasonably good ball, but the other two weren't great shots. And I've played 160 games. you're going to make mistakes sometimes you just got to hope you miss them you know you play miss or you get a little bit of fortune and you try and limit those to as few as possible but the majority of the time he makes very good decisions in high pressure moments he puts pressure back on bowlers and I think reads the game exceptionally he also takes a lot of pressure off the guy at the other end you know he can create carnage at times for the opposition and speed the game up but can also play a game which is very much within that and still very destructive in a slightly different way.

22:01He can kill teams with a whisper too. Like I said, if he gets himself in and set, he might go on and do something very special in the next couple of games. And the 100 in Brisbane, people have described it as a monkey off your back was it something that you have been thinking about I mean it's very difficult to get away from it when you arrive and they're calling you average joe and the stats and every newspaper was it something in your back of your mind or you really weren't phased about it because it was a pretty ice cold celebration I thought it sort of went what's all the fuss about you can tell us more no I think look you can't say I wasn't aware of anything of course I was it's hard to escape it it's sort of everywhere, there's a lot of people talking about it, but it should never really be about individual milestones.

22:50If you start thinking about that, I think you're playing for the wrong reasons. Of course, it's nice when you go on and do individual things within the game, but it's not what you play for, you play to win. And I think at the time, what felt so good was being able to get into a position, what we felt was a strong position within that game at that moment, having that partnership with Joffre at the end as well and of course it's a nice thing to be able to even playing for Prosper I never got 100 so to finally get 100 in Australia of course it's a bit of relief in there and a nice thing to have achieved but your job within this team as a senior batter is to score heavily and you know that if you're doing that then you've got a far better chance of winning so that's always been my main focus that will never change Were you any more nervous?

23:40In the 90s? I mean, I've watched you get 39 Test match hundreds before that, and I never once got nervous for you. But I was nervous watching because of the hype and the moment and the crowd and the whole, even Australian fans. I walked down the alleyway in Brisbane and an Aussie said to me, come on, Joe, come on, Joe, which is remarkable. So did it make you any more nervous or is it just another normal 90s? No, I mean, like you said, I've got a few hundreds already, so I couldn't be more prepared and more ready for it. So in many ways, I wouldn't say I was more nervous. I was trying to stay very present within the moment and within the game and clear about what we needed to do to get to what felt was a competitive and good score on that surface in those conditions.

24:24So I'd say that was in many ways a nice distraction. And the way that I try and look at the game is clearly when you get to 100, batting does for some reason seem a little bit easier. but ultimately your job is to keep trying to take that scoreboard as far away from the opposition as possible or close in on that target that they set you. Did you put any shot away in that 100? I mean, some people have said you've got to be less sort of flirty outside that off-stump with that lovely run-down shot that you do in England. Or was it just the same Joe Root that converted a 70 and 80 into 100? I looked very straight throughout the whole innings, tried to play as straight as I could.

25:05I also, I think in the first test match, I got too obsessed with the bounce and trying to play square of the wicket. And I think that was to my demise in both innings, really. I think going back to Brisbane, I knew that the challenges that it might pose and I tried to take modes of dismissal out of the game where I could and look to just play as straight as possible and understand that sometimes less is more in those conditions. felt like a slow outfielder in softball so I was going to have to work hard and you know run pretty well I'm not the one of the stronger guys in our team so but with that in mind just again just read what was right in front of me play play what was coming down at me as always you need a little bit of luck but you're trying to take out as much risk as possible with the highest amount of output and just try and replicate that time and time again for the course of your innings let's throw it ahead to this week 2-0 down obviously Australia attack will probably get even tougher with Cummins and Lyon coming in but how important is it you stay true to your instincts because of all Australia grounds now there's a bit of grass on it at the moment we're a few days out this could be a pitch a ground that suits your style not you but the team style of play how important is you don't move away and panic and go away from what you've done for three or four years now and stick to that method that you've had and believe that here you can turn it around I think a lot of the talk that comes about this team is an external narrative I think what the most important thing is we've got to bring out the best versions of ourselves and partner partner up well out there in moments in in the game you know that big partnerships drive the game whether that's with ball it's understanding it if you're not feeling in great rhythm with the ball is being able to you know play second fiddle to the guy at the other end similarly as with the bat if someone's hard work be able to get off strike and trust the guy at the other end and work well together um and i know that if we do ours you know we come out with our best stuff and improve on what we've learned from some of the experiences throughout this tour but ultimately look at what our best game looks like and deliver on that then we'll I think we'll have a great opportunity to win here.

27:26And I think the whole complexion of the series changes if that happens. One final question. Great players like you are constantly looking to improve, constantly looking forward. If I take you back to that 19-year-old boy arriving wide-eyed, nervous in Australia for a bit of grade cricket and the Darren Lehman Academy, are you proud of what you've achieved? I mean, 40 Test Match 100s, England captain, World Cup wins, 13 ,700 runs, and the way you've carried yourself as an individual. I know you like to look forward, but do you look back and go, you know what, I did all right there, Joe? I've not really thought about it too much.

28:10I'd say that kid that got off the plane here would be extremely proud of every bit of that. but yeah I always think you know if I'm having a slow day or feel a little bit sluggish just remember what it felt like to be 12 years old pull the curtains back and pray it's not raining so I could go out and play that night after school whether it be in the garden on the road at the club just sort of create our own little test match so I try and always try and take myself back to what it felt like then and try and remember how lucky I am to get every opportunity that i get to represent england to travel the world to immerse yourself in a number of different cultures and um great countries around and do what we do and you know we do get extremely looked after we're very fortunate to get the opportunities we get um and and just almost just keep looking at every chance as an opportunity you know it's not a burden you might be two nil down in ashes series but if anything that creates even bigger opportunity you know we've got a chance to do something that no other England side's done is come back from 2-0 down here in Australia.

29:18So imagine if we get that right. Imagine what that will feel like. And I think it's really important to remember that. Yes, I will, I'm sure, at some stage when I'm a little bit older and I might have lost my hair like you, I can sit back and think of all of the great times that I had. But I think for now it's trying to stay present, stay right where I am now and concentrate on what we need to do to deliver here and try and create some history. And my part in that is obviously to go out there and try and perform and to score as many runs as I can. Good luck this week. Cheers, thank you.

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