Joe Root not a fan of day-night Ashes Test but aware he needs to shine under lights
It rarely takes much for an Englishman to be accused of whinging in Australia but when Joe Root was asked a simple question on Sunday – whether a series such as the Ashes actually needs day-night Test cricket – he simply gave an honest answer,“I personally don’t think so,” replied Root, before England began netting at the Gabba before Thursday’s second Test,“It’s obviously very successful and popular here, and obviously Australia have got a very good record [played 14, won 13],You can see why we’re playing one of those games,“Ultimately, you know from two years out it is going to be there.
It’s part and parcel of making sure you’re ready for it.A series like this, does it need it? I don’t think so … but it doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be here either.I don’t mind it.I mean, I don’t think it’s as good as traditional Test cricket.But it’s in the schedule.
We’ve got to play it, and just got to make sure we’re better than them at it.”Like his opposite number, Steve Smith, Root’s typically stellar numbers take a bit of a nose dive against the pink ball.The Yorkshireman has played all seven of England’s floodlit Tests to date and, despite a century in his first outing against West Indies in 2017, a career average of 50.9 drops to 38.5.
Conversely, the bowler Mitchell Starc averages 28.97 at a strike-rate of 49.9 overall but 17.08 and 33.3 respectively with a pink ball.
In the left-armer’s last such outing, in Jamaica in July, he claimed six for nine as West Indies were razed for 27 all out — career-best figures that lasted all of one Test match after taking seven for 58 on day one in Perth.The head-to-head between Root and Starc is already shaping up to be one of the deciding factors in this series.Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood have traditionally bothered him far more but, in their absence last week, it was the evergreen Starc who wiped him out for scores of nought and eight.The first was just a good ball, Root has since reasoned; the kind that would likely not carry to slip back home.The second, bowled chopping on amid England’s second day collapse, was a miscalculation on his part.
“I know I’m a good player,” he said.“I know I’m going to be able to score runs again.”Wobble-seam has become Starc’s weapon of choice these days – he wished he had listened to Hazlewood and Cummins about it sooner – but in muggy Brisbane there may well be swing on offer too.England, 1-0 down, have even more to overcome this week and runs from their premier batter would go some way towards them emerging from the self-inflicted hole.This may not necessarily require a century should another rapid-fire shootout unfold but Root’s lack of one on Australian soil continues to follow him on tour.
“I didn’t have long enough to think about it,” was his latest self-effacing answer, when asked if the statistic had preyed on his mind in Perth.Sign up to The SpinSubscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers' thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week’s actionafter newsletter promotionRoot and his teammates went hard at it on Sunday, with some American west coast hip-hop serving as the soundtrack to an Australian east coast session on a sweltering afternoon.Monday and Wednesday are the key days for England’s preparations, taking place in the evening under lights.Mark Wood’s absence with a growling knee has opened up a spot in the XI and the sight of Will Jacks netting among the main group of batters offered a possible clue as to the favourite to come in.The all-rounder’s off-breaks are serviceable and extra runs at No 8 could offset those he leaks with the ball.
That said, Josh Tongue has been with the Lions in Canberra and remains a live option were England to stick with all-out pace, while the off-spinner Shoaib Bashir was in the 12-man matchday squad last week.Much to ponder, then, at a ground where England have not won a Test for more than 40 years.“It is a chance to make a bit of history,” said Root, regarding this statistic.“It would make it all the sweeter if we get over the line here.”
Your Party’s first conference shows little sign of achieving fresh start
When the idea of a new leftwing party spearheaded by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana was first mooted in the summer, it was so popular that hundreds of thousands of people expressed an interest in joining.Although it was quickly beset by arguments – its co-founders rowed bitterly over its initial leadership and funding model – many hoped this weekend’s inaugural conference would signal a fresh start.A sizeable chunk of the 2,500 delegates are former Labour members, disappointed by the policies of the current government and looking for a political home as they worry about the rise of Reform UK.As plans for the party’s first official gathering were finalised, Sultana and Corbyn looked to have buried the hatchet. Appearing at a leftwing festival in Manchester last month, Sultana jokingly compared the duo to the Gallagher brothers, saying: “I’m here to tell you the show is back on the road
Your Party conference thrown into chaos as Zarah Sultana boycotts first day
Zarah Sultana has boycotted the first day of Your Party’s inaugural conference, throwing the party’s first official gathering into chaos amid disagreements with co-founder Jeremy Corbyn over how the party should be run.Corbyn confirmed to journalists on Saturday that he preferred a single leader and is likely to stand for the role but Sultana said she would vote for collective leadership and that she did not believe parties should be run by “sole personalities”.In a sign of further division within the fledgling movement, a spokesperson for Sultana said she would not be entering the conference hall on Saturday in solidarity with delegates who were expelled over links to other leftwing parties, describing the process as a “witch-hunt”.The Guardian understands Sultana will run against Corbyn if members decide to elect one leader. Delegates in Liverpool will choose between electing a sole leader or a collective of lay members – those not already serving as MPs or councillors
Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana’s Your Party reveals shortlist for official name
The leftwing party formed by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana has revealed a shortlist of names for its members to pick from: Your Party, Our Party, Popular Alliance and For The Many.Ahead of its first conference in Liverpool this weekend, the party is asking its 50,000 members to choose what it should be called, with the result to be announced by Corbyn on Sunday.It was temporarily named Your Party when launched over the summer, but the organisation has been beset by months of rows and infighting since then.There have been disagreements between Corbyn and Sultana over how it was launched and how money raised from members should be held.It also attracted other independent MPs including Ayoub Khan and Shockat Adam but two more MPs, Iqbal Mohamed and Adnan Hussain, have already quit amid persistent infighting and a struggle for power in the organisation
Former Ukip MEP denies taking money to promote Russian interests
A former leading member of the group of MEPs headed by Nigel Farage has denied taking money as part of a campaign to promote Russian interests.David Coburn, who was leader of Ukip in Scotland for four years, was responding after the jailing of his former colleague, Nathan Gill, on charges of being bribed by an alleged pro-Russian asset.Coburn, who was an MEP for Scotland between 2014 and 2019, was mentioned in WhatsApp messages between Gill and Oleg Voloshyn – a former Ukrainian MEP who is accused of the bribery – that were released by prosecutors.Gill was jailed last Friday for 10 and a half years for taking bribes to make statements in favour of Russia when he was an MEP. A prominent member of the Ukip and Brexit party groups, he had pleaded guilty to eight counts of bribery between 6 December 2018 and 18 July 2019
Woman jailed for harassing Rachel Reeves’s MP sister
A woman who tried to summon her MP, the solicitor general Ellie Reeves, to court has been jailed for harassment in London.Tracey Smith sent Reeves 22 emails and 10 voicemails calling her “transphobic” and accusing her older sister – the chancellor, Rachel Reeves – of physically assaulting her at a buffet bar.Smith, who is a trans woman, used phrases including “a person is dangerous when they have nothing to lose” and “bullets will be flying around”.The 58-year-old was jailed for 26 weeks and ordered to pay costs of £650 at Westminster magistrates court on Friday.District judge Michael Snow also ordered a restraining order without time limit to be imposed
Labour MPs to demand more concessions on workers’ rights after government climbdown
Labour MPs are preparing to demand further concessions on workers’ rights as the price of accepting ministers’ decision to ditch plans for day-one protection against unfair dismissal.MPs who are unhappy about the move will push for stronger protections in other areas, such as bogus self-employment arrangements, as part of Labour’s “make work pay” agenda.But the government looks set to get its amended employment rights package through the Commons despite backbench anger at the eleventh-hour compromise, which critics say breaches a Labour manifesto commitment.Ministers announced on Thursday that they were axing a plan to give workers the right to make an unfair dismissal claim against an employer from the first day in a new job. Andy McDonald, Neil Duncan-Jordan and Rachael Maskell have been among the Labour MPs to criticise the decision
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