Melbourne: England skipper Joe Root hit back at former Australia captain Ricky Ponting and said he knows nothing about his team or what is going on in their dressing room.
Beset by off-field problems and finding Australia too hot to handle on the park in the ongoing winter’s Ashes tour, it has been a tour to forget so far for Root and the visitors. England have also been let down by the struggling experienced trio of former captain and opening batsman Alastair Cook, pacer Stuart Broad and spinner Moeen Ali.
Root himself has come under the microscope after making just 176 runs in six innings at a modest 29.33, numbers that pale in comparison with his Australian counterpart Steve Smith.
Ponting termed Root as a “little boy” leading England.
“He’s entitled to his opinion, but he doesn’t spend any time in our dressing room or around the squad,” the 26-year-old told Sky Sports
“I’m obviously going to disagree with that — I’m sure if you asked any of the guys in the camp, the coaches or support staff or players, they would back me up on that,” Root added.
The right-handed batsman, who has scored 5,499 runs for England in Test cricket at an average of 52.37, also said the “little boy” tag does not go with him and he knows what he can do on the field.
“I don’t think I go about things as a ‘little boy’, for sure. I have my own way of doing things — I think it’s important you don’t try to be something you’re not,” the top-order batsman said.
“I know there are occasions where you might have to be quite strong in front of the group. I may not appear to do that out on the field but there are certainly times when I know that I can do that, and I have done that.”
Australia will aim to continue their domination, while a bruised England will look to restore some lost pride as the fourth Ashes Test begins at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) here on Tuesday.
Australia have already pocketed the series having won the first three matches handsomely — by 10 wickets in Brisbane, 120 runs in Adelaide and an innings and 41 runs in Perth.
But the hosts will now seek a repeat of the 5-0 sweep at home four years ago, while a beleaguered England will be scrapping for pride, particularly with question marks looming over several of their senior players.
England have been in touch briefly during the three games but were not able to grab their moments.
They will, however, take heart from the fact that they won at the MCG as recently as in 2010, though that will be tempered by the knowledge that Smith has made a century in each of his last three Boxing Day appearances in Melbourne.
