Ashes ain’t over, simple as that, insists Root

ADELAIDE: A defiant Joe Root insisted the Ashes series was by no means over despite England falling to a 120-run defeat in the second Test at Adelaide Oval on Wednesday to go 2-0 down with three matches to play.
England, swept 5-0 on their last visit to Australia, must now win at least two of the remaining matches in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney, as well as draw the other, to retain the urn they won with a 3-2 triumph on home soil in 2015.
Despite England’s extremely poor record in Perth, Root thought the fight the tourists put up on the third and fourth days in Adelaide meant the series was very much alive.“I’d strongly disagree,” he said when asked what he would say to those who believed England were heading for another whitewash.
“The way we responded with ball and bat in the second innings was outstanding (and) proved to everyone we are still massively in the series, it’s simple as that.“We’ve shown throughout the two games in periods we can outperform Australia, just not over five days, and that’s going to be our challenge.“If we can get that right, and perform to our ability for longer periods of time, we’ll win games. Simple as that.”