Former skipper sets Root trap for Aussies

Australia have been given an Ashes leg-up from an unlikely source with a former England captain detailing a game plan to curtail the impact of the country's current leader, Joe Root.

Root was dismissed for one, caught behind the wicket off his second ball on the opening day of the ongoing third Test with the West Indies at Lord's.

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It prompted Michael Atherton to underline what he identified as a weakness in Root's technique, and even provided Australia's brains trust with tips on setting a field.

And in further music to Aussie ears, Atherton also added that he believe the current captain may be feeling the strain of shouldering a weakened batting line-up.

Image Id: 4F8549AFE9D348ECA20AE9CD01F4955A Image Caption: Root trudges back after being caught behind at Lord's // Getty

"Australia should be looking quite carefully at how Root has played this summer," Atherton said on a Sky Sports panel after day one.

"He likes to put bat to ball early on. And that kind of shot (his first-innings dismissal) in Australia is a tough shot to play with the extra bounce.

"If I was bowling to Root at the moment, I would be hanging it out there (wide of his off-stump), but I'd make sure you've got enough catchers (behind the wicket).

"Even if it means you're taking a risk early on and you're offering him runs through the covers, through mid-off, whatever, you've got to have enough catchers there.

"Two gullies and at least four slips when he first comes in," Atherton added for his recommended field setting.

"That might sound a bit over the top, but just hang it out there, and you're in the game at the moment."

The analysis was sharp enough to prompt another former England captain and co-commentator David Gower to ask with incredulity "Whose side are you on?"

Root took over the England captaincy following Alastair Cook's abdication after the team was whitewashed by India late last year.

He opened his tenure with a brilliant 190 against South Africa at Lord's and has scored at least 50 in each of his past 12 Tests dating back to England's defeat by Bangladesh in Dhaka last October.

Of the 13 half-centuries in those 12 Tests (he scored one in each innings in the defeat to the West Indies at Leeds) he has converted that score into a century just three times.

And despite the regular reaching of a milestone, Root's average in this period is three runs less than his career mark, albeit at a still hugely impressive 50.69 that sees him comfortably ranked the world's second-best Test batsman behind Magellan Ashes rival Steve Smith.

But Atherton has seen enough to express some doubts, noting that England's leader has benefited from some poor fielding at times across the northern summer.

"In this England team at the moment, he's carrying an awful load as a batsman," Atherton said.

"If you think of Cook and Root out of our top five, they're the bankers really, with question marks over the other three.

"So there is a bit of extra weight on his shoulders."

Facing an Ashes series as his first overseas journey as skipper, Root may wonder about the level of support he can expect from his predecessors who now fill media rolls.

Atherton is the second former England skipper to poke holes in his game after Michael Vaughan, a close friend and fellow Yorkshireman, accused the current crop of a "lack of respect" for the game under Root.

"The England batting has been appalling," Vaughan said on the BBC's Test Match Special as England slumped to a 340-run defeat by South Africa in Root's second game in charge. "Maybe it's a lack of respect about what the game is.

"They look like they are playing a Twenty20 game. I look at the approach – yes, the ball has done a little bit but it's not been drastic. They have this approach of attack, attack, attack. There is no thought or feeling of seeing off a bowler or wearing a team down."

It is less than 11 weeks until the opening Magellan Ashes Test gets underway on November 23 at the Gabba.

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Magellan Ashes Series

First Test Gabba, November 23-27. Buy tickets

Second Test Adelaide Oval, December 2-6 (Day-Night). Buy tickets

Third Test WACA Ground, December 14-18. Buy tickets

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Fifth Test SCG, January 4-8 (Pink Test). Buy tickets

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Prime Minister's XI

PM's XI v England Manuka Oval, February 2. Buy tickets

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Second T20I – Australia v England, Blundstone Arena, February 7. Buy tickets

Third T20I – Australia v England, MCG, February 10. Buy tickets

Fourth T20I – NZ v England, Wellington, February 14

Fifth T20I – NZ v Australia, Eden Park, February 16

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Final – TBC, Eden Park, February 21