Not your average Joe. Root aiming to improve Ashes return for England in Australia

PERTH, Australia (AP) — Joe Root received a typically tabloid reception ahead of the Ashes series opener in Perth, where the local newspaper described the star England batter as “Average Joe” due to one glaring ommision from his cricket CV.

The second-highest scorer in test cricket history hasn't scored a century in an Ashes test in Australia.

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Indeed, as he embarks on his fourth Ashes tour Down Under, Root is aiming for his first win in a test match on Australian soil. His record to date stands at 12 losses and two draws.

Root posted three centuries and an unbeaten half century in the five-test home series against India in June and July.

He is No. 1 in the International Cricket Council's men's test batting rankings, and his ability to score runs in Australia could go a long way to determining England's fate in the 2025-26 series which kicks off Nov. 21 at Perth Stadium.

Marcus Trescothick, England's assistant coach, backed Root to keep adding to his 39 hundreds overall in test cricket, which is fourth highest overall behind Sachin Tendulkar (51), Jacques Kallis (45) and Ricky Ponting (41).

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“The way he’s gone in the last couple of years will probably explain that, you know, he’d be very comfortable with what he’s trying to do at the moment and how he’s playing his game,” he said Tuesday. “We’ve seen Joe really grow massively in the last three seasons.”

Trescothick said Root had flourished under the coaching of Brendon McCullum and the captaincy of Ben Stokes.

“His game has gone to the next level and hence the reason where he is on the rankings,” Trescothick said. “You’d be very surprised if he doesn’t carry on in that same sort of vein really with the style of player that he is and the quality performer he is.”

Root's highest test score in Australia is 89, and his average is 35.68 in 14 tests Down Under, well below his career test average of 51.29 runs per innings.

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The former test captain has scored four hundreds and averages 43.88 in Ashes series in England, where he has played 20 of his 34 tests against Australia.

There have been questions in the past over his ability to handle the extra pace and bounce of the pitches in Australia, something Trescothick is confident Root can turn around and score that “elusive 100."

“I’m fairly confident where he’s at at the moment,” Trescothick said, “and where he’s going into the series.”

Root will turn 35 next month, on the scheduled last day of the fourth test in Melbourne, and seemingly has plenty more time to amass test runs.

Tendulkar is the leading all-time scorer in test cricket with 15,921 runs — 2,378 more than Root.

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