Auckland, 26 October 2025:
Joe Root has yet to score a Test century in Australia, but the England batter believes a renewed focus on the mental side of his game could help end that drought and possibly guide his team to a long-awaited Ashes triumph.
For one of England’s greatest run-scorers, Root’s record Down Under remains an anomaly. His Test average of 51.3 drops to 35.7 in Australia, and across 14 matches there, he has yet to be part of a winning side.
But ahead of the next Ashes tour, Root says he feels at a “completely different stage” of his career and part of a squad equipped with “different tools” — particularly in the fast-bowling department — to finally reclaim the urn, 14 years after England last won an Ashes series away from home.
“I think how I prepare now is different to how I would have done 10 years ago,” Root said in Auckland before England’s ODI series against New Zealand. “Now I’m a lot more mental. I used to be very technical — I wanted everything lined up, my feet and head in the right place. Now I’m more concerned about how I’m looking at the game.”
Root said his preparation in Sheffield has centered on sharpening his approach to various match situations and planning for the Australian attack he knows well.
“It’s about how I’m going to approach different situations,” he said. “The surface, the bowlers, the angles — being able to manage all of that when things change.”
Since Brendon McCullum took charge in 2022, Root has been the world’s most prolific Test batter. His 14 centuries in that span are the most by any player, ahead of Shubman Gill and Harry Brook, who have each reached double figures.
This will be Root’s fourth Ashes tour, but he says the buildup feels unlike any before. With England boasting their fastest pace attack in decades and a settled top order — barring the choice between Ollie Pope and Jacob Bethell at No. 3 — he believes this squad is as well-placed as any he has played in to win in Australia.
“I’m no longer captain, I’m playing some really good cricket, and so are we,” Root said. “We’ve got a great group of players who can hit them with different tools to what we’ve had before. Australia are always strong at home, but that’s the exciting bit — the opportunity to do something special.”
