Joe Root admits frustration as England go 2-0 down in Ashes
England captain Joe Root admitted his frustration after the tourists fell 2-0 behind in the Ashes with a 275-run defeat to Australia in the second Test in Adelaide.
Jos Buttler gave England hope of scraping an unlikely draw with a gutsy 207-ball stint at the crease but stood on his stumps early in the final session and Australia quickly finished the job.
England’s 11th loss in their last 12 Tests in Australia leaves them short odds with bookmakers to suffer an Ashes series whitewash.
“The reason it’s disappointing is because we made the same mistakes,” said Root.
“We could have bowled a lot fuller and with the bat guys need to apply themselves better. Look at the second innings: that’s the mentality we need for the rest of the series. It’s frustrating because I know we’re good enough to do it.”
England started the final day with six wickets in hand and survival their only aim, but Ollie Pope fell in the second over.
Buttler, however, reined in his attacking instincts to bat out most of the day, sharing 31 overs with Chris Woakes and 14 with Ollie Robinson on his way to a fastidious 26.
England paid for allowing Australia to amass 473 in their first innings, however, and Root conceded the pink ball and floodlit conditions had not played as expected.
“It’s easy after a game to think about how you could have rejigged things,” he added. “You’re trying to find what you think is going to exploit the conditions. It probably didn’t behave exactly as we thought it would. We thought there would be more movement early on in the match.”
The third Ashes Test is due to begin in Melbourne on Boxing Day.