Joe Root looks to the future as he spells out England’s four-year plan

• Root looking for SCG Test win as a platform for rest of the year
• ‘As a captain I think tactically I’ve been quite good,’ says captain

Joe Root has admitted to a twinge of jealousy when it comes to the sheer volume of runs to have flowed from Steve Smith’s bat during this Ashes series, describing his Australian counterpart’s glowing form as a “little lesson” on the subject of leading from the front.

The two batsmen’s returns contrast starkly heading into Thursday’s fifth Test, with Root’s three half-centuries eclipsed by Smith’s 604 runs and three hundreds that included a career-best 237 in Perth; even with a pair in Sydney the Australian’s average would still be above 100 for the series.

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from The Guardian http://ift.tt/2lI8PiQ