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Joe Root refuses to use Ben Stokes as an excuse for losing the Ashes.
And Root says there won’t be a radical changing of the old English guard in the wake of their Ashes flop.
Root’s team, without star player Stokes, crashed to a 3-0 series deficit to Australia on Monday when crushed by an innings and 41 runs in the third Test.
But Root isn’t about to blame the dismal showing on the absence of Stokes, who is suspended from England duties while prosecutors decide whether to charge him over a September street fight.
“I’m not going to make excuses about things that are out of our control,” Root said.
“We knew that he wasn’t going to be on the tour from the very start.
“And I was very confident that this group of players could come out here and win. Unfortunately it has not turned out like that.”
England coach Trevor Bayliss conceded Stokes’ sidelining “changed the dynamics of our team”.
“But I certainly think the Australian team have been too strong for us, whether he was here or not, – the simple fact is he wasn’t,” Bayliss said.
“And the guys in the team, the guys here, took that on board very early. They haven’t been whingeing about him not being here.”
England’s grim campaign has been lowlighted by misfiring senior players such as Alastair Cook, Stuart Broad and Mooen Ali.
Cook has a meagre 83 runs at an average of 13.83 this series.
Paceman Broad has just five wickets at 61.80 – three of his wickets came in one innings.
Allrounder Ali is also in the doldrums – three wickets at 105.33 and a batting average of 19.33.
But Root backed all the seasoned campaigners to escape from their rough trots, predicting Cook, Broad and 35-year-old swing bowler Jimmy Anderson would still be in the Test team in a year’s time.
Cook, in particular, is sadly struggling but Root backed his captaincy predecessor to find form.
Asked why, Root responded: “The fact that he’s a very stubborn guy that likes proving people wrong could come into it.
“The amount of extra work and hard yards he is putting in behind the scenes tells me that he’s desperate to keep going,” Root said.
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