Ashes 2017-18: England captain Joe Root unable to finish Ashes Test after hospital admission

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This was published 6 years ago

Ashes 2017-18: England captain Joe Root unable to finish Ashes Test after hospital admission

By Tom Decent
Updated

Joe Root may very well be the first England captain to be asleep while an Australian skipper has lifted an Ashes trophy.

After an unpleasant and sleepless night of vomiting and diarrhoea, Root's absence from the post-match presentation on the turf of the SCG characterised England's horror series that went from bad to worse.

The England captain was admitted to hospital on Monday morning before play and, although initially it was believed to be a result of heat exhaustion, team officials corrected themselves by revealing he had a viral gastroenteritis bug.

After a torrid time in the series, this was the last thing Root needed. He did not front up for the first ball of the day but admirably strode to the wicket when Moeen Ali was dismissed and soldiered on, hoping to give his team a flicker of hope to draw the match.

Water works: Hydration was all-important in the heat, but fluid intake might not have been enough for Joe Root.

Water works: Hydration was all-important in the heat, but fluid intake might not have been enough for Joe Root.Credit: Andy Brownbill

By lunch, though, Root's condition had deteriorated. Even with assistance from support staff, the skipper did not return after the break and was not seen again.

There were flashbacks of Graeme Smith strolling down the stairs of the SCG Members Stand in 2009 to bat with a broken hand. But it was not meant to be for Root and, with a result out of reach, he stayed in the dressing room.

As Steve Smith and his ecstatic teammates celebrated with the urn, Root was nowhere to be seen, understood to be sleeping in the change rooms.

England vice-captain Jimmy Anderson had to take over media duties after the win and praised Root for his courageous effort to even set foot on the field and come away with a polished 58 from 167 balls.

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"To get to the ground in itself is a great effort and to strap his pads on and get out there and bat for as long as he did was a brilliant effort from him and it just shows what sort of character he is," Anderson said. "He wants to lead by example in this team. He's been a fantastic captain throughout this tour and it just shows what sort of person he is to make that effort to get out on the field.

"I hope it's not too serious and he can sleep it off now and get better before the one-dayers."

Root's final-day illness sums up the series for the tourists but also highlights a few tough traits perhaps some of his teammates failed to showcase throughout the five Tests.

Smith said he felt for his opposition captain and expressed how it would have been to battle on with such a virus.

"You never want to hear someone is ill like that," Smith said. "I was in that sort of spot last week. Maybe not to that extent but it's not a nice place to be. He showed some real courage to come out and bat for the period that he was there.

"You could see he was struggling a fair bit, particularly after he ran between the wickets. He's a tough character, so he must have been in a pretty bad way not to come out after the break."

The 27-year-old finished the series with 378 runs – five short of Dawid Malan – at an average of 47.25, the highest of any England player.

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But with no hundreds to his name, Root will look back on his first series in charge in Australia ruing the fact he did not kick on and make big scores as we have seen him do before.

"You ask any captain who has toured Australia, it's not an easy place to come," Anderson said. "It's not an easy place to play, especially when you're on the wrong end of the result. The way he's carried himself is a real credit to himself. He's been fantastic the whole way through, very level-headed. He should be very proud of what he's done this trip."

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