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England star batter Joe Root is confident that the side can hit Australia with something 'different' in the upcoming Ashes series that is set to begin from November 21. The 34-year-old remarked that not only are they going into the series with multiple youngsters, but have also adopted a different mentality for the crucial assignment.
"It's a big series like that against a side that have got a great record at home, especially against us previously. But I think it's the first time we can hit them with something slightly different," Root told Sky Sports News.
"We're going out there with a different team, a different mentality, a different way of playing and have played some good cricket of late. Hopefully that stands us in good stead, and we can put across some really good performances and hopefully create some history," he addeed.
England's bowling attack for The Ashes
England have decided to pick a total of six seamers in their bowling attack for the Ashes and have chosen the likes of Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts, Josh Tongue and Mark Wood. They have only picked one proper spinner in Shoaib Bashir and have rather opted for two spin-bowling all-rounders in Jacob Bethell and Will Jacks. Part-timers Joe Root and Harry Brook can also contribute in the department.
Root's big claim on England bowlers
Root claimed that the duo of Archer and Wood can 'blow teams away' when they are fully fit and are bowling at their best. While Archer made his return to red-ball cricket after four years in England's previous series against India, Wood last played a Test match in August, 2024 before he was sidelined due to a knee injury that ended up keeping him out of action for several months. The supcoming series against Australia will be highly-important for both the pacers.
"It's the first time that we've gone over there in the last couple of tours, or since I've been around, where we can hit them with some real pace and more than just one option of it. It means that we're going there with a slightly different approach and a different way of attacking than we have previously, which I think is exciting," Root stated.
"You've seen what they [Archer and Wood] can do at international cricket and the performances that they put out when they're fit and they're firing and at their best. They can blow teams away and they can really blow games wide open. Clearly, they're a big threat for us and can offer something different that we haven't had on previous tours," he further added.
Meanwhile, The Ashes will be both Australia and England's second assignment of the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. While the Baggy Greens whitewashed their previous Test series against West Indies by 3-0, the Three Lions could only manage to draw their home series against India by 2-2. It remains to be seen if England will manage to reclaim the urn for the first time since 2015, or if Australia will continue their dominance in the rivalry.
England squad for The Ashes: Ben Stokes (captain), Harry Brook (vice-captain), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Mark Wood.
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