"It's been nice to have a break, Root said. With what we've got coming up, it's important to utilise that. I've done a little bit of batting, not loads. I've tried to get a good bit of separation, just trying to get that feeling of excitement again, almost like that feeling of being a kid at the start of the season and trying to harness that ahead of what's to come."
"But my Ashes preparation started back home. I think how I prepare now is different to how I would have done 10 years ago. A lot more mental. I used to be very technical in how I used to prepare. I'd want to make sure that everything felt lined up and my feet were in the right place, whereas now I'm a little bit more concerned about how I'm looking at the game, how I'm going to approach different situations."
"I think he's better equipped as a player than ever, Ponting said. But you also know that little man sits on your shoulder [and] keeps telling you: You haven't done well here in the past,' and: You haven't got a hundred here.' That's why it's a mental thing for him, this series, more than anything else. He's got to get over that little mental hurdle and get a hundred. And I actually think he will get that hundred this time around."
Joe Root has not played since early September and has only practised in the indoor nets in Sheffield. He used the break to create separation from constant batting and to recapture an excited, childlike feeling ahead of upcoming fixtures. Root shifted his preparation from a technical focus toward prioritising mental readiness, mindset, and situational approach rather than precise technical checks. Ricky Ponting said Root is better equipped than ever and suggested that overcoming a mental hurdle could deliver a long-awaited hundred in that country. Root heads into a one-day series against New Zealand before the Ashes.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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