Joe Root concedes Ashes performance will "define" his England captaincy

Root has already led England to more Test victories than any previous captain but, having seen his side beaten 4-0 on their last Ashes tour, knows he is unlikely to have another chance to achieve success in the series against the Aussies

Joe Root has admitted that the forthcoming Ashes series could define his reputation as captain.

Root has already led England to more Test victories than any previous skipper but, having seen his side beaten 4-0 on their last Ashes tour, knows he is unlikely to have another chance to achieve success in the series that remains the measure by which English leaders are judged.

Andrew Strauss is the only captain to lead England to a Test series victory in Australia in more than 30 years.  

"Could this series define my captaincy? Absolutely," Root said.

"If you look at how hard it's been for English captains and English teams [to win in Australia] over the years, it's been something that doesn't happen very often.

^{Joe Root, the England captain, and his Australia counterpart Pat Cummins (Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images for Cricket Australia)}

"Of course it will define my captaincy, I'm not naive enough to think it won't. But what a great opportunity. I'm very excited about it and can't want for the series to get going."

While Root continues to keep his options open as regards team selection, by comparing Ollie Robinson to Glenn McGrath, one of Australia's greatest bowlers, he did suggest that he expects him to play a major part.

"Look at how Ollie's taken to Test cricket," Root said.

"His performances have been very good. He's stood up. He's had to deal with some incidents already in his career so for him to be able to overcome that is impressive in many ways.

"It's obviously nice to hear some of the [Australian] guys are already talking him up. 

"He's a tall guy, with a high release point who gets the ball to move laterally.

"If you look at guys who've had success for Australia over the years – people like Glenn McGrath or some of the current players - they are tall guys with high release points who get it to move laterally."

Root admits this series could define his captaincy

Root did also hint that England may include a spinner, which would almost certainly be Jack Leach, despite the wet weather forecast for the match.

"We've got all the options on the table right now," Root said.

"I do think it's a good place to bowl spin, though. If you speak to some of the great spinners who have played for Australia, they have always enjoyed bowling here.

"But we are not going to name a team just yet. We will have to see what a closer forecast is and how that pitch changes over the next couple of days.

"It's something that we will consider. But we are not in a position to make a call now."

Our coverage of the Ashes is brought to you in association with Cricket 22

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