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Rarely that an English cricketer is accused of complaining down under, yet when Joe Root was questioned regarding the need for pink-ball cricket during the Ashes, he gave an honest response.

“My personal view is no,” Root stated before England's practice at the Gabba. “Clearly highly popular and well-received in this country, and Australia boast a strong record in these matches. You can understand why one match is scheduled.

“In the end, you know well in advance that it’s scheduled. It’s part of being ready for the series. In a contest of this magnitude, is it essential? Probably not … yet it doesn't imply it has no place. I don’t mind it. I don’t think it matches traditional Test cricket. But it’s in the schedule. We’ve got to play it, and we just need we outperform our opponents at it.”

Joe Root's Performance in Day-Night Tests Declines

Like his counterpart, Steve Smith, Root's usually stellar numbers see a drop with the pink ball. The Yorkshire batsman has played all seven England's floodlit Tests to date, and although a hundred in his debut outing versus the Windies back in 2017, his overall average of 50.9 drops to 38.5 in these games.

On the other hand, paceman Mitchell Starc holds an average near 29 and a strike rate around 50 overall, yet these figures improve to 17 and 33 correspondingly in day-night Tests. In his last pink-ball appearance, against West Indies, he took six for nine as West Indies were dismissed for a meager 27—his best performance that he bettered with seven for 58 in the next Test.

Key Battle Between Root and Starc Could Shape Series

The matchup between Root and Starc is emerging as a potential deciding factors in this series. Although Cummins and Hazlewood have traditionally caused him issues, in their absence in the first Test, it was Starc who got him out for zero and eight.

Root has reflected that the first dismissal was just a good ball—the type that might not carry the slips in England. His next dismissal, bowled chopping on, amid the team's slump, was a miscalculation by him. “I know I’m a good player,” he stated. “I know I’m going to return to form.”

England's Challenges and Preparations

Starc has adopted the wobble-seam as his preferred weapon these days—he admitted he wished he'd heeded his teammates' suggestions earlier—and in humid Brisbane, swing could be available. England, down one match, have more to overcome this week, and contributions by their premier batter would help in recovering from a self-inflicted hole.

This may not require a hundred should there be quick-fire match unfolds, yet Root's absence of a century in Australia continues to haunt him. “I didn't get time to think about it,” was his humble reply on being questioned whether that record weighed on him in Perth.

Squad Decisions and Historic Opportunity

Root and his teammates practiced hard on Sunday, with hip-hop setting the tone on a hot afternoon. Monday and Wednesday are vital for England’s preparations, held under lights.

Wood being unavailable with a sore knee opens up a spot in the lineup, with Jacks practicing among the batsmen hints he could be in contention. His off-spin are decent, and extra runs at number eight might offset any conceded runs.

That said, seamer Tongue has been with the Lions in Canberra and remains an option if England opt for an all-pace attack, while off-spinner Shoaib Bashir was in the squad last week. Much to think about, then, at a venue where the visitors haven’t won a match for decades.

“It's an opportunity to make history,” Root said on this fact. “It would be even more satisfying if we win at this ground.”