Root happy to bat wherever

Batsman Joe Root will bat in the middle order, if that is the selectors' desire for the first Ashes Test, which will get underway in Brisbane on 21 November.

Batsman Joe Root will bat in the middle order, if that is the selectors' desire for the first Ashes Test, which will get underway in Brisbane on 21 November.

Root was deployed as an opener throughout the coveted five-match series earlier this year and, besides a fine century at Lord's, was generally found wanting.

Former Australian leg-spinner has since publicly criticised the young right-hander's technique, while the left-handed Michael Carberry has grown in favour.

"I just love playing for England," Root told <i>Sky Sports</i>. "I relish any opportunity to put the shirt on, put the cap on and go out and represent my country. I will try and do the best job possible whether I bat.

"It has been great opening the batting and I have enjoyed every minute of it but wherever I play, I will play and that is something I enjoy.

"Opening is something I have done all my career but representing England is the pinnacle for me and regardless of where that is in the line-up, playing is the main thing for me."

While Carberry enjoyed a thorough 78 and the experienced Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell scored centuries in the drawn three-day fixture against the Western Australian Chairman's XI last week, Root fell for an unfulfilled 36.

"Not playing for a while you forget how frustrating it is getting out," added Root. "I was really enjoying it out there and felt in good rhythm, it was good to get some time under my belt in the middle and I'm looking forward getting stuck in again."

The tourists' next assignment is a testing four-day fixture against Australia A, starting in Hobart on Wednesday.

Latest