Joe Root: “We are still massively in this series”

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Even though England are 2-0 down in the Ashes, captain Joe Root has said that his side still believe they can retain the coveted urn.

England went 2-0 down in the five-Test series after Australia won the second Test, a day-night affair in Adelaide, by 120 runs.

Left-arm seamer Mitchell Starc starred for Australia on the final day of the match as he took a five-wicket haul to leave the Baggy Greens within touching distance of regaining the Ashes.

“I definitely thought we could have batted better – that margin is far too great – and we could have bowled fuller on the first morning when it was definitely doing plenty,” Root was quoted as saying by Sky Sports. “Those two areas are where the game went in Australia’s favour.

“The way we went about things in the second innings proved we are still massively in this series – we have shown we can outperform Australia but we haven’t done it for five days. That’s going to be our challenge.”

While Root admitted that he was gutted to lose the second Test, he is confident that England will bounce back during the third Test, which begins on December 14 in Perth.

“It’s obviously very disappointing [to lose],” Root said. “I thought the way we responded with ball and bat in the second innings was outstanding, especially the way we played last night (Tuesday) in those conditions.

“That showed a lot of character and that’s what you want to see in series like this. We just need to find a way of doing it for longer periods of time and doing it over five days as if we perform to our ability we will win games.

“The belief is still there – I don’t think we are in a situation we were the last time we were here.”