Joe Root scored five fifties in the Ashes but was overshadowed by Steve Smith (Picture: Getty)

Joe Root admits he did not deliver during England’s defeat in the Ashes – unlike Australia captain Steve Smith.

Yorkshireman Root finished the five-match series with 378 runs from nine innings – he scored five fifties but was unable to make his first Test century in Australia.

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Smith, meanwhile, averaged close to 140, scoring four centuries and three fifties to fire his side to an emphatic 4-0 victory.

Despite his healthy albeit unspectacular return, Root says he is disappointed by his performances Down Under and is keen to ‘bounce back’ in the upcoming series against New Zealand.


Asked whether he feels he failed to do himself justice during the Ashes, Root said: ‘Yes I think so. You look at their senior players, someone like Steve Smith and the amount of runs he scored in a big series like that.

Root looked in good touch in Australia but failed to score a hundred (Picture: Getty)

‘As a captain and senior player you have to stand up and deliver and I wasn’t able to do that.



‘That’s not sitting well with me right now and coming into a new series in New Zealand, you want to make sure you bounce back from that and set the example for the rest of the guys.’

Smith’s Australia won the first three Test matches in the Ashes to win back the urn, before England secured a hard-fought draw in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.

The home side rallied in the finale in Sydney to take the series 4-0, but Root still believes England can take positives from the experience.

Steve Smith enjoyed a record-breaking series for Australia (Picture: Getty)

‘I think there are some good things that have come out of this tour,’ the 27-year-old told Sky Sports.

‘I think we’ve got great depth and a lot of talent under the current side. It was an opportunity for those guys to stand up and try to make their case in an England shirt.

‘Craig Overton came into the side and what a start he had to his international career. His first wicket was Steve Smith and he probably looked our best bowler until he went down [injured] in Perth.

‘Dawid Malan as well – he played fantastically well. Mark Stoneman, for the first three Test matches, showed promise of a really good international opening batsman.’

England start a five-match ODI series against New Zealand in Hamilton on Sunday and Ben Stokes is in contention to return to the side after a six-month absence.

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