Joe Root has agreed to bat at No 3 against Australia for the first Test match of England’s Ashes series at Edgbaston.
England’s inexperienced top order have flattered to deceive in the lead-up to Thursday’s opener and Root has decided to make the sacrifice for the good of his team.
The Yorkshire batsman, England’s Test captain since February 2017, favours coming to the crease at No 4 and has made the position his own since being dropped from the No 3 spot during the disastrous 2013-14 Ashes tour.
Trevor Bayliss has made no secret of his desire for Root to bat third, but it’s understood the latter made the decision and approached England’s head coach over the swap.
Surrey stars Rory Burns and Jason Roy are expected to open the batting for England at Edgbaston.
The reshuffle means Joe Denly, who has been batting at No 3, will likely move down to No 4 in the order.
Root has not batted at three since the infamous 2013-14 Ashes tour in Australia when he lost his place in the England side for the first and only time in his esteemed Test career.
When playing for England, Root averages 40 at No 3 compared with 48 at No 4.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has called on Jonny Bairstow to drastically improve his form ahead of the first Test.
‘Jonny Bairstow is averaging six in the past two years when the ball has been hitting the stumps from a pace bowler,’ he wrote in his Daily Telegraph column.
‘That is not good enough. Being bowled 14 times out of 31 is also not good enough.’
Vaughan added: ‘I am just being realistic. For a player who plays like he can it is just not good enough. He is the kind of guy who needs to be switched on mentally to be at his best, and he did not look like that against Ireland.
‘He will get criticised after this week and that often brings the best out of him. But he is averaging under 30 in the past two years now – you cannot tell me he keeps getting jaffas.
‘In the World Cup semi-final, Starc bowled a delivery that swung into Bairstow at 92mph. He defended it immaculately. That is what I would like to see him do in Test cricket.’
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