Joe Root believes coronavirus break could galvanise England: "Guys will all be desperate to start playing again"

HUW TURBERVILL: The Test captain addresses a possible loss of momentum, uncertainty at Yorkshire and a desire to help the NHS

Joe Root fears there will be no cricket this season thanks to the COVID-19 crisis, but is trying to stay optimistic.

Speaking from his Sheffield home via a Zoom conference call, the England Test captain said:

• An enforced break will see players hungry upon return
• England ‘building to do something special in 2021/22 Ashes when Mark Wood and Olly Stone can provide X-factor’
• He is frustrated that England could not test themselves against ‘improving Sri Lanka’
• Is keen to play six Tests this summer as ‘home games important in World Test Championship’
• He’s been in touch with all England and Yorkshire team-mates and is missing dressing-room environment
• His wife may give him throwdowns in the back garden and his son is ‘500 for 4 – it’s a flat track’
• He throws support behind NHS and Sheffield Children’s Hospital

Are you worried we might not play any cricket this summer, that this might wipe out the entire season?

It has definitely crossed my mind, it’s a possibility. We have to try to stay optimistic, take things day by day, not get too ahead of ourselves. We’ve just got to be ready, adapt and make the most of those circumstances as a cricket community coming together and doing the best for the game. We can’t do much in terms of actual practice, hitting balls and bowling.

It might be that my wife has to start giving me throwdowns in the back garden but until things become that drastic it will be simply sit tight and wait. I’ll do a lot of fielding and giving [son] Alfie throwdowns. He’s about 500 for 4 at the minute – it’s a bit of a flat track here. I haven’t picked a bat up yet, so I’m sure at some point I’ll raid the garage and shadow-bat in the house.

How else are you keeping busy Joe?

I’m enjoying the chance to spend time with family, which is something we don’t get a huge amount of. It’s important that when we get these opportunities we try to help and support everyone around us and really come together like we’ve seen throughout the nation over the last few weeks.

Are you in touch with team-mates?

I’ve been in touch with every single player who played across the winter to make sure everyone is OK, that everyone is getting their stuff done, and trying to get a bit of feedback as well. We now have some time to have a good assessment of where we are as a team; to look at a few things and use this as an opportunity to improve and where we might want to take the team forward.

One thing that the guys have done well is to stay active, fit and positive. That’s been quite clear. One of the things that you can never replicate is that dressing-room environment, and building something together as a group of players.

It’s a special thing and at times you can take that for granted, especially when you play as much as we do. It’s certainly become more evident the longer we spend apart. It’s only been two and a bit weeks. If it goes on for a good while yet I can see that being the thing that really sticks out.

^{Staff at Yorkshire have been placed on furlough to ease the club's financial issues}

Yorkshire have announced they are furloughing some staff. Have you spoken to the players?

I have been in touch with the guys. It’s been about trying to keep each other up, conversations flowing, have a bit of fun and banter. There have been a few quizzes. There’s not been a huge amount of talk of money so I think the club have tried to keep things calm within the playing group, been clear about their stance and how they are going to keep things moving forward. They’ve said they will try to communicate as best as possible.

The guys are trying to keep themselves active, stay fit, and deal with things as they come. That dressing-room environment is difficult to replicate, especially this time of year. They are normally excited, they have been training all winter to get ready for the start.

The days are getting a bit longer, you can feel summer coming around, so you have to find ways of staying up and staying together. It could be a while before the groups gets back together again. We need to find different ways of keeping each other in good spirits and holding that team together.

Are you using this time to think about the 2021/22 Ashes? Have you watched the Aussie documentary on Amazon?

I resisted watching for a while. I’ve started watching the first few now. While we were away I exhausted a lot of the shows that I wanted to watch, so it’s come around to watching that now. It’s been a good motivator to get back and train, get back on the bike, use it as a way of incentivising myself. I’ve only got to the start of the World Cup, so we’ll see how the rest of it unfolds.

A lot of the things we do in Test cricket revolves around planning for the Ashes down under. It goes without saying that the Test Championship is important and every game carries a huge amount of weight, with points collected trying to get into that final, but a lot of what we’re doing is about building for that series. We have around 17 to 20 games until we go down there and play if all are played.

We have to use every opportunity to build the team up to be absolutely ready for what those conditions throw at us, what Australia throws at us, on the field and off. We really must use this time to ready ourselves to do something special down there because we know how challenging it can be to play there. You look at some of the guys we’ve brought into the squad over the last year or so, trying to add different elements that will work in those conditions.

Guys like Mark Wood, like Olly Stone… fast-bowling contracts that have come in to encourage guys to go out in county cricket and bowl as quick as they can, add that X-factor to what is a talented and skilful bowling group that we have at the moment – to give us that variety, something we might have lacked on previous tours, to complement some skilful bowlers.

We’ve seen in South Africa that has played a part, it has found us a way to take 20 wickets in foreign conditions. If we can keep putting experience into a number of the young batters as well, give them game time, then we’re starting to build a team that has confidence, experience, and is ready and hardened for the challenges Australia will throw at us. 

Have there been thoughts about taking a voluntary pay cut as Eddie Jones (England rugby head coach) did?

I’m sure at some point there will be a discussion... that’s not my area of expertise. But I'm also aware they are discussions that will take place between the Professional Cricketers’ Association and the England and Wales Cricket Board. I think we just have to concentrate on making sure we’re as fit and as ready to go as we can be for whenever we get back to playing. 

^{Joe Root has finally begun watching the Amazon documentary on the Australia team}

Are you worried about rearranged games adding to a packed schedule in future?

Until we know when we’re going to come back to play it’s going to be difficult to work out when things can be rescheduled. If we’re lucky enough to be in a position where we can play in them we should try. Knowing what’s going to take precedence – whether it’s Tests over other formats for instance… we have to be adaptable and open-minded and take it day by day.

The coming winter is busy already – can you fit the rearranged Tests in?

It would be a very tough winter – a huge workload on some of the players, especially the multi-format ones. We have had to endure some quite tough winters and found ways to get through. It will be interesting to see how they can fit it in looking at the schedule as it is now. If it goes that way we will have to adapt, look at squad sizes and make sure the guys are not blown out and overworked. It is difficult to say until you know when the games are going to take place.”

Could this enforced break see players even more motivated to come back?

Yes, I definitely feel that. When you get time like this away when it is unscheduled, guys will all be desperate to start playing again and all of the pent-up energy that will be there from spending time at home will be expended on the field and into performances.

Are you worried that the England team will have lost momentum?

It’s frustrating. There are more important things to concern ourselves but from a cricketing point of view we were preparing ourselves well for the two Tests in Sri Lanka and we made big strides in South Africa. They were different conditions but you saw how the warm-up games panned out and how the younger guys adapted with the bat and readied themselves. We felt like we were in a strong position to do something again.

It would have been nice to get those games in to test ourselves against a side on the rise to see if we could keep building our away form and on the three brilliant Tests we had in South Africa. Going into the summer, the six Tests will be crucial points as the home games seem to be really important in the Test Championship. It might be that changes now moving forward. When it comes to those games they might have to be rescheduled, play them abroad. I am sure there are a number of different scenarios.

^{England have been unable to build on their Test series win in South Africa}

How is your family?

Everyone seems to be fit and well at the moment. The grandparents are taking things day by day, trying to stay as active as they can in the house but trying to get them to download some apps on their phones and tablets has been challenging. They are starting to come around now so communication has been there and finding ways to make sure everyone stays in touch is important for everyone.

How are you exercising? 

I have an exercise bike at home and been using that for my aerobic stuff, and trying to get Alf running around the garden or doing something outside with the kits the ECB have kindly sent us. I’m taking this seriously, trying to stay indoors as much as possible, avoid contact at all costs. It’s pretty impossible to get online shopping at the minute. We’ve had one booked for three or four weeks. We’re being efficient with what we’re buying and trying to be creative with our cooking, finding different ways of using what we have in the fridge, not wasting anything.

Have you thought about how you can help the NHS?

I have wanted to get involved with the Sheffield Children’s Hospital for a while. We are lucky in Sheffield to have that facility. It’s great what the NHS has done and how they have dealt with the situation. The number of people who have volunteered is amazing and it’s special how communities have come together.

It is motivating seeing how powerful it is when people come together and show support for a fantastic organisation like the NHS. We are lucky to have it. We should appreciate it and not take it for granted. Hopefully, that continues long after this pandemic finishes as well.