We must find inner belief, says England’s Root after defeat

Pat Cummins’ hosts ripped through the England batting to dismiss them for 68 and win the Melbourne third Test by an innings and 14 runs to retain the urn. It followed a 275-run thrashing in Adelaide and a nine-wicket thumping in Brisbane, with two Tests in Sydney and Hobart left for England to save face

Skipper Joe Root said England must front up and somehow salvage some pride after surrendering the Ashes series in calamitous fashion on Tuesday, admitting Australia have outplayed them throughout. 

Pat Cummins’ hosts ripped through the England batting to dismiss them for 68 and win the Melbourne third Test by an innings and 14 runs to retain the urn. It followed a 275-run thrashing in Adelaide and a nine-wicket thumping in Brisbane, with two Tests in Sydney and Hobart left for England to save face. 

“We have to make sure when we get our opportunities to get ahead we take them,” said Root.

A hostile spell from Australia on Monday effectively won them the match, reducing England to 31-4. “We knew going into today we were more than capable of getting ourselves a score and it’s disappointing that we didn’t manage to do that,” added Root. “We have to front up, make sure we stay focused, looking to improve all areas of our game individually and collectively, and we have to have a really strong inner belief to be able to come back,” he said. 

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