Joe Root Gives Blunt Reply To David Warner's 'Surfboard' Taunt: "No Control Over..."

England cricket team star batter Joe Root gave a blunt reply to former Australia cricketer David Warner's criticism of his batting technique. Ahead of the upcoming Ashes Test series, Warner highlighted Root's struggles against Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood and came up with a cheeky take on his batting style. "Josh Hazlewood tends to have his number quite a lot. He will have to take the surfboard off his front leg," he said. Root has been dismissed 10 times in 31 innings by Hazlewood till now.

However, Root was not bothered by the comment and went on to reply in style.

"Just that. I have no control over how people perceive the game or discuss it in an interview. Nothing new, is it? You know there are going to be storylines and people wanting to hype up a big series. Does not really change anything. It is sort of irrelevant to me. What can I do about it? Just make sure it is not a talking point in six months or 100 days' time," he said on Sky Sports.

"When you get out there, you have to got to try and impact the game and help your team get off to a good start. Business as usual as far as I am concerned. I guess it is all part of the fun. We will see what happens out there [with Warner at Lord's during The Hundred, where they are playing for Trent Rockets and London Spirit respectively]. It is not really in my nature to get too verbal," Root added.

Root is aiming for his first-ever century in Australia, with his side set to tour Down Under for the Ashes series, with the first Test starting from November 21 at Perth.

The five-match series will be a crucial part of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) campaign for both sides.

The Three Lions, who just drew the series against a new-look Shubman Gill-led Indian side by 2-2, will be aiming for their first Ashes series win in Australia since 2011, and their first since 2015, when they won 3-2 as hosts.

For this, it would be important that Root, who has smashed 22 centuries since 2021, continues his red-hot form with a few triple-figured scores Down Under, something he has never done before.

In Australia, Root is not only winless in 14 previous Tests against the Aussies, his lack of centuries also concerns him ahead of the tour, having made nine half-centuries at an average of 35.68 and scored 892 runs in 14 matches and 27 innings. With three scores of 80s and a best score of 89, the veteran has been unlucky to miss out on the milestone in Aussie conditions.

(With ANI inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

Joe Root David Warner Australia Cricket Team England Cricket Team Cricket