Root still unsure if Stokes will contest the Ashes with England
Joe Root says he is unsure whether vice-captain Ben Stokes will take part in the Ashes. Photo: ABC
England captain Joe Root has said he still doesn’t know if vice-captain Ben Stokes will feature in this summer’s Ashes series.
Stokes was suspended over his involvement in a brawl outside a Bristol nightclub last month.
Two men have been reported as saying Stokes was defending them after they were subjected to homophobic abuse.
Root was asked about his erstwhile teammate at his first press conference after arriving in Perth.
“We don’t really know what’s going on with that, we have to sort of let the police get on with that,” he said.
“But hopefully it can be good news for Ben – as a friend I hope it is – but in terms of the reality of it all, we’ve got to wait and see.
“We’ve got to plan as if he’s not going to be here and give ourselves the best chance.”
Root said that while the saga had not been “ideal”, the players just wanted to get on with the job.
“It’s obviously been disappointing – it’s been hard for the guys, Ben’s a close friend of the whole squad,” he said.
“We’ve just got to plan ahead now and make sure we’re in the best possible position when it comes to that first Test match.”
Alastair Cook is England’s all-time leading run scorer. Photo: ABC
Root said critics only provided a greater motivation for the side to prove them wrong, and firmly rejected the ‘underdog’ tag.
“We’ve got three of England’s best all-time players … with Cooky [Alastair Cook], Jimmy [Anderson] and Broady [Stuart Broad], and then we’ve got some guys who have really stood up over the last couple of years, and I think we are a completely different side to last time we came here,” he said.
“The great thing about playing here in Australia is you’ve got a chance to earn a huge amount of respect from around the world if you can perform well here.”
England lead the ledger in recent series, having won five of the past seven Ashes, including winning in Australia for the first time in 24 years in 2010-11.
The current squad contains record wicket taker Anderson, as well as all-time runs leader Cook.