england cricket captain Joe Root dismisses Ricky Ponting ‘little boy’ jibe before fourth Ashes Test

england cricket captain Joe Root dismisses Ricky Ponting ‘little boy’ jibe before fourth Ashes Test joe Root has only managed to score 167 runs at an average of 29.33, but it is his leadership skills that have been called into question by Ricky Ponting ahead of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG. image source England lost the Ashes with a crushing innings defeat in Perth last week, when he depicted Root as a “little boy” Ricky pointing  said joe root needs to “step up big time” and has little respect from his own squad., in response, the joe root emphatically rejected that assessment of his captaincy during the tour. “He’s entitled to his opinion but he doesn’t spend any time in our dressing room or around the squad,” Root said. “I’m obviously going to disagree with that. I’m sure if you asked any of the guys in the camp, the coaches or support staff or players, they would back me up on that. “I know there are occasions where you might have to be quite strong in front of the group. “I may not appear to do that out on the field. But there are certainly times when I know that I can do that, and I have done that.” joe root has also confirmed “Tom Curran will make his debut in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, .Although Tom Curran was not a member of England’s original squad and was only called up because Steve Finn was invalided home, he had a fine all-round game in the two-dayer at Perth before the third Test. Ball would only add to the length and fragility of England’s tail.I think he’s a real competitor,” Root said about Curran who has played for England in white-ball formats, while this will be his Test debut. “He’s a feisty character, he’s always wanting to get in the contest.” Root said the pitch looked dry – and it has been a high-scoring venue for Victoria. “It looks as though it might get a bit slow and dry towards the end,” Root said. So England’s game-plan has to be bat first, make big first-innings runs, hang in and hope to have Australia batting out for a draw on the fifth afternoon steve Smith took the unlucky blow to his right hand , after a shot from the opener Cameron Bancroft somehow found its way out of his net and ricocheted in the direction of his captain, who was waiting to bat. Smith has scored 426 runs in the ashes at an average of 142.]]>