Former Yorkshire and England fast bowler Ryan Sidebottom believes the Australian media’s attempts to rattle Joe Root ahead of the Ashes could spectacularly backfire – insisting the England talisman is primed to finally end his century drought Down Under.
Root, who sits second only to Sachin Tendulkar on the all-time list of Test run-scorers with 13,543, has done just about everything in the game except score a hundred on Australian soil.
With the first of five Ashes Tests concluded in favour of the Aussies, the 34-year-old didn’t get off to the bets of starts but still has the chance to put that record to bed – and Sidebottom thinks the Australian press may have just given him extra motivation.
“I’ve seen the clippings of Australia’s press, ‘Average Joe’, which again, you know, credit to the Australians, their radio and papers, they do get behind their team,” said Sidebottom, speaking exclusively to BOYLE Sports who offer the latest cricket betting odds.
“But if it were me, that’s the worst thing you can possibly do to a world-class player, is print something like that.
“If I were Joe Root, I’d be cutting that out and putting it on my wall wherever I went, and I’d be looking at that and going, ‘Right, okay, here we go, game on’. So could that work in England’s favour, with Joe Root just dominating? It’s just brilliant how all these talks and battles in the media are going.”
Root has faced plenty of psychological warfare from Australian pundits and former players, with several insisting he cannot be classed among the true greats until he scores a Test century Down Under. But Sidebottom believes this tour could be the one where Root silences the doubters once and for all.
“I think he will. I genuinely believe that,” Sidebottom stated on the matter.
“He’s going to go down as a great of the game, probably the greatest English batsman there’s ever been. If he scores a ton or a couple of tons in Australia, England will win.
“He’s a huge player for England. He’s a big scalp for Australia to get. And that will play in his mind.
“The fans know that he hasn’t scored 100 in Australia. There’ve been huge mind games with some of the Australian ex-cricketers, too – ‘To say you’re one of the greatest players, you have to score hundreds in Australia.’ And I get that. But he’s a wonderful player.”
Root’s record in Australia currently stands at 892 runs in 14 Tests, a respectable return, with a top score of 89. He has compiled nine half-centuries on Australian soil – a tally bettered this century by only Sir Alastair Cook and Ian Bell among English batters. Yet, with an average of 35.68, Australia remains the country where Root’s returns are at their leanest across any country he has visited more than twice.
However, Sidebottom insists it’s only a matter of time before the Yorkshireman turns that consistency into a statement performance.
“If we are to have success in our batting line-up, the senior player in Joe Root has to stand up and score big runs,” Sidebottom added.
“And I think he needs 100 as well to cement his place in history and not just in the record books, but in an Ashes series. If he gets a couple of big hundreds, things will change dramatically. And I think England will win.”
As for the series itself, the former left-armer remains optimistic that Ben Stokes’ men can make history – provided Root and Stokes fire together.
“If there’s no rain, if there’s no affected matches, I hope they’re all going to go five days. I feel England will win this 3-2,” he said.
“You look at the line-ups, we’ve got a stronger team on paper – that may count for nothing – but I feel if Ben Stokes is in the team for the five Tests, I think we will win 3-2, I genuinely do. If Joe Root and Ben Stokes play well, this England team will fly.”
Feature image by Ajit Solanki/AP
