ROOT TO VICTORY

Captain must be firing if England have any chance of Ashes glory

- RICHARD EDWARDS

ENGLAND started their tour of Australia in 2010/11 with a brutal camp in Bavaria that tested the squad to its limits.

Jimmy Anderson returned with a cracked rib after a boxing bout with team-mate Chris Tremlett.

But England finished that winter with a knockout blow of their own, beating the Aussies on home soil for the first time since 1986/87.

They have not won a Test there since - losing nine out of 10. As their current tour prepares to get underway in earnest after quarantine, the odds of them reversing that trend are lengthy.

But the Australian coach who watched on as Andrew Strauss's side created history a decade ago, still believes anything can happen - particularly if Joe Root continues his 2021 run glut.