Ashes 2019: Joe Root after the Loss: “I am Bitterly Disappointed”

England lost the fourth Ashes Test by a massive 185 runs to Australia. With this win, Australia have retained their Ashes. Tim Paine became the first Australian captain to win the Ashes in England since Steve Waugh in 2001. On the other hand, England captain Joe Root said the loss was ‘hard to take’ as they have fought so hard to win in the game.

“I’m bitterly disappointed,” said the England captain Root to BBC Radio. “I thought the way we fought today, the character we showed, every single one of them can be proud of that today. To come so close to taking it to the Oval is hard to take. We’ve still got to look forward and make sure we level the series.”

However, he said that England weren’t the best in the first innings of the Test.

“I think it’s been a good Test wicket, an important toss to win, and we were not quite at our best in the first innings. We fought hard and bravely throughout the game, but we’re in the position we are now,” added Smith.

Joe Root praised Steve Smith, who has scored a double century in the first innings and 82 in the second innings in the fourth Test. Even, he has scored 671 runs at 134.2 including three centuries in the series despite missing the third Test at Headingley with a concussion; where England registered a nail-biting one-wicket win.

“Steve Smith has played very well,” he said. “He’s a world-class player. You need to take any chance you get at him early. The first Test is probably the difference between the two sides.”

“They’ve bowled well. I think the way we went about our business today was impressive. The guys will take a lot from that. You learn a lot about your team and players in situations like this and we stood up to the challenge and fought bravely,” he concluded.

The final Test will begin from September 12 at Kennington Oval, London.