Series victory in South Africa a template for next Ashes, says Joe Root

JOHANNESBURG: The series win over South Africa had given England a template for the next Ashes series, captain Joe Root said after another emphatic test win on Monday.

England’s team, with a mix of experience and promising youngsters, beat South Africa by 191 runs in the fourth test on Monday to complete a 3-1 series triumph.

After failing to prise back the Ashes last year, when they drew 2-2 in the five test series at home, Root said the win in South Africa provided a timely boost.

“There is a huge amount of test cricket still to be played between now and then but it gives us confidence and knowledge of how to perform on wickets that might be slightly similar,” he said referring to the series that will begin in November 2021.

“We have got to look to keep getting better and keep developing. We still feel the sky is the limit for this team and that we’ve got to keep looking to improve.

“We’ve obviously performed extremely well in these last three games but as a side, over the last couple of years, we’ve not been consistent enough. We are very open about that and we have an opportunity now to build on this tour.”

England are next in Sri Lanka in March and then host the West Indies and Pakistan later this year.

Root said the six home tests will give the team an opportunity to string together positive performances in completely different conditions.

“We’ll try not to look too far ahead but we’ve got a great template to work around and it’s nice to see it falling into place,” he said.

The England captain said one of the most satisfying aspects of the South African series was that they took the full haul of 20 opposition wickets in all four tests.

“That’s something have struggled with in the past when we’ve been abroad.”