Dec 2nd, 2017

Dec 2nd, 2017

The knives have quickly come out for England captain Joe Root after he snubbed history and chose to bowl first in an Adelaide Oval Test.

Only one team has won after doing so.

That triumph belongs to the then-mighty West Indies whose fearsome fast bowlers delivered victory in February 1982.

On Saturday, in overcast conditions and forecast rain, Root won the toss and sent Australia in to bat in the second Ashes Test.

It's the first time since December 1982 a captain has opted to bowl first in Adelaide - back then, it was England's Bob Willis and the Poms lost by eight wickets.

Australian counterpart Steve Smith said he would have batted on Saturday if he won the toss and commentators wasted little time panning Root's decision.

Ex-Test captains Michael Vaughan and Ricky Ponting blamed England's new-ball bowlers Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad for compounding Root's decision by bowling too short in their opening spells.

"It's pretty, it looks lovely, but it's too short," said Vaughan on BT Sport.

"Joe Root would be saying, 'You have got to get it fuller for me'."

Former England opener Geoff Boycott went further, suggesting the tourists would already be regretting Root's decision.

"I would have batted," Boycott said on BT Sport.

"At this moment in time, England are thinking (it's) not a good decision.

"If you're fielding at slip, you're wondering, 'Have we made a mistake?' ... Joe Root would be having second thoughts."

Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen told the Nine Network Root's decision at the toss "could prove to be one of the defining decisions of this series".

In Root's defence, the nation bowling first has won both pink-ball day-night Tests in Adelaide - but both have been Australian victories.

Teams batting first have won four of the six-day night Test matches worldwide.

©AAP2017