England's Test captain hopes his side manage to win the Ashes after being crowned world champs
Joe Root during the recently-concluded World Cup. Pic/Getty Images
London: Basking in the glory of their maiden World Cup triumph, England Test captain Joe Root feels the team are on the cusp of reaching the cricket "pinnacle" if they also manage to win the Ashes. Hosts England scraped past New Zealand in a dramatic final at Lord's on Sunday to lift the World Cup crown. They now channel their focus to the Ashes where the five-Test series against Australia starts from August 1.
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"It's what we set out to do two or three years ago and we're halfway there," Root was quoted as saying by the BBC on Monday. "We couldn't be in a better place really, having achieved what we've achieved here," said Root. "This will give the guys confidence and we've talked about taking that forward into a series like that. The way we played against Australia in that semi-final at Edgbaston... the guys who were involved relished it and will want a bit more: the feeling of euphoria we felt at that ground... "To potentially be able to experience all that again is very exciting. Ashes cricket always has a different edge to it so that in itself will get everyone going." "It's always so special," added Root, 28.
"The atmosphere, the way it builds up and the way the guys get excited about it, it's like no other series in Test cricket. "It's something I'm really looking forward to and it'll be massive, especially on the back of this. It'll make it even bigger." Root also spoke about England's 2005 Ashes success which has been compared to this World Cup victory.
That was the first time they had won the series since 1986-87. "I was 14 watching that 2005 series and that was hugely inspiring for me," said Root. "Hopefully we can do something similar for the next generation. "As a team we've talked about leaving the game in a better place when we finish. The way we've gone about things in this World Cup, hopefully it's done that and the next generation want to go on and emulate what we've achieved."
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