ADELAIDE, Australia — England
captain
Joe Root on Tuesday backed
Jack Leach and
Rory Burns to bounce back
from dismal Ashes performances, as star all-rounder Ben Stokes declared himself
fit to carry the fight to Australia.
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Root refused to rule out selecting
spinner Leach in Thursday's pink-ball Test in Adelaide, even though he conceded
102-1 from 13 overs as
England stumbled to a nine-wicket loss in Brisbane.
England controversially
rested veteran quicks Jimmy Anderson and
Stuart Broad for the first Test but
Root said the pair were "fit and ready to go" in Adelaide.
Leach's meagre returns in
Brisbane would normally see him dropped to make room in the attack, but England
will want a specialized slow bowler for Adelaide's traditionally spin-friendly
wicket.
"We've obviously got
some big decisions to make," Root told reporters in Adelaide.
He said conditions did not
suit Leach at the Gabba but
Australia could pay the price if they continued to
target him elsewhere.
"I'm sure he'll want to
respond and he'll want to get back into the series and have an impact,"
the England skipper said.
"Some of the grounds
that we will be going to from this point onwards should offer a lot more for
him and bring spin into it as well."
Root also offered support to
opening batsman Burns, who fell to the first ball of the series in Brisbane and
then dropped a crucial chance from
David Warner.
"Rory is a very strong
character, you can't doubt that side of his game," said Root, himself
strongly criticized back in England after winning the toss in Brisbane and
opting to bat first.
"He'll come back in and
want a response and want to put some big scores on the board."
Stokes, who failed to fire
in Brisbane — his first competitive match in six months after a break to deal
with a finger injury and mental health issues — dismissed concerns a knee
injury could keep him out of the second Test.
"People will have seen
me rubbing my knee from time to time when I was in the field, but rest assured
I'm fine," Stokes wrote in a column for Britain's Daily Mirror.
"It is an old injury
that flares up every now and again, but I know how to manage it."
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