Unwell Joe Root was sleeping when England lost 5th Ashes Test: James Anderson
England pacer James Anderson spoke in place of Joe Root, who was unable to make it out of the dressing room for the post-Ashes presentation ceremony.
James Anderson confirmed captain Joe Root was sleeping as England’s forgettable Ashes series ended with another comprehensive defeat to Australia in Sydney on Monday. (Scorecard)
Root was hospitalised overnight having suffered from viral gastroenteritis following Sunday’s sweltering heat at the SCG and the skipper was nowhere to be seen when England were beaten by an innings and 123 runs in the final Test.
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The 27-year-old was initially unable to resume his innings on Monday but he eventually returned to the crease – unbeaten on 58 at lunch – though he did not bat again as Australia sealed a 4-0 series triumph.
Root did not even make it out of the dressing rooms during the presentation ceremony, his place taken by vice-captain Anderson, who provided an update on the England batsman.
“He is asleep at the moment,” Anderson via Channel 9. “He has a gastro bug or something. He hasn’t been too well throughout the night.
“It’s taken its toll on him. The heat didn’t help yesterday. He is asleep in the dressing room trying to recover.”
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Australia – led by man-of-the-match Pat Cummins (4-39) – ripped through England – the tourists all out for 180 shortly after lunch following Anderson’s dismissal, with Root unable to continue.
England were no match for Australia, who benefited from an even contribution from their batsmen and bowlers.
Cummins (23), Mitchell Starc (22), Josh Hazlewood (21) and Nathan Lyon (21) starred with the ball, while player of the series and captain Steve Smith (687) was the leading run-scorer.
Shaun Marsh (445) and David Warner (441) were the next best batsmen in the series, while Dawid Malan (383) led England among run scorers and Anderson (17) for bowlers.
“To be honest, we’ve been outplayed in key moments in each game,” Anderson said. “We’ve been in the games to an extent but we haven’t been able to capitalise on any opportunities we’ve had.
“Australia, credit to Steve and his team, they have played fantastically well throughout the series. They were the far better side.
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“They have a fantastic bowling attack. Their batsmen have come to the party, they have all scored runs when the team needed them.
“If we look at ourselves, that’s where we’ve slipped up. We have not scored the amount of runs you need to win a series like this. And as a bowling group, we haven’t created the pressure for long enough periods of time.”