MELBOURNE
\nVeteran England batsman Joe Root has said it would be \u201csilly\u201d to change England\u2019s management team after losing the Ashes, with players \u201cabsolutely committed\u201d to the current set-up.
\nEngland meekly surrendered the famous urn after just 11 days of play with back-to-back eight-wicket defeats in Perth and Brisbane and an 82-run loss at Adelaide.
\nTheir capitulation was compounded by criticism of their low-key preparations and allegations of excessive drinking during a mid-series beach break in Noosa.
\n\u201cIn terms of the playing group, we\u2019re absolutely committed to the management,\u201d Root, England\u2019s all-time leading Test run-scorer and a former captain, told English media in Melbourne.<\/p>\n
The team restored some pride with a frantic four-wicket win in Melbourne, snapping an 18-match winless streak on Australian soil. It relieved pressure on coach Brendon McCullum, skipper Ben Stokes and cricket chief Rob Key, who have all indicated they want to stay in their roles.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, we can be better and there are certain areas that we\u2019ll continue to keep working at, but the management work extremely hard.
\n\u201cThey might do things in a slightly different way, but I think we\u2019ve made great strides as a group and a big reason for it is because of the guys we have behind us.\u201d
\nManagement\u2019s case to stay on would be strengthened by another win in the fifth Test in Sydney starting Sunday.
\nRoot was captain on England\u2019s last tour of Australia in 2021-22 when they were crushed 4-0, costing coach Chris Silverwood and cricket director Ashley Giles their jobs.
\nBut Root said a lot of progress had been made since under the current regime.
\n\u201cYou look at the group of players we\u2019ve got and you look at the guys that were involved in the team when I was captain, four years ago, and you look at their records individually, and every single one of them has improved as a player,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cThis team has improved. I think it would be silly (to consider change) for the amount of hard work and things that have been done.\u201d
\nVictory in Melbourne was Root\u2019s first in Australia in more than a decade of trying and he said it \u201cwould be better if we win next week as well\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MELBOURNE Veteran England batsman Joe Root has said it would be \u201csilly\u201d to change England\u2019s management team after losing the Ashes, with players \u201cabsolutely committed\u201d to the current set-up. England meekly surrendered the famous urn after just 11 days of play with back-to-back eight-wicket defeats in Perth and Brisbane and an 82-run loss at Adelaide. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-522905","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n