Joe Root relishing Ashes battle as fans get right behind England

England’s World Cup celebrations were intense, but short-lived. A couple of heavy nights, a meet and greet at The Kia Oval, then a trip to No10. Already, there is another epic task at hand.

In 16 days’ time, England begin their Ashes campaign against Australia. Before then, Joe Root will lead them in an historic four-day Test against Ireland, back at Lord’s.

The squad for that are named on Wednesday and they have a camp this weekend to start preparing.

Ben Stokes summed up the need to get back to work.

“Being in professional sport and cricket in particular, you ebb and flow with your emotions,” he said. “Winning and losing games, you’ve just got to wipe the slate clean. We’re going to enjoy the next two days because we deserve it.

“Everyone here deserves to feel like a champion because we’ve just won it, but when it comes to the Ashes, it’s going to be heads on because it has to be. We may be world champions, but we also want to be Ashes winners as well.”

There is less certainty around the Ashes team, but as many as nine of the World Cup winners have designs on playing the Tests.

The top three seems likely to be Rory Burns, Jason Roy and Joe Denly, although it was interesting that Ben Foakes batted No3 for the Lions against Australia yesterday.

Denly has shown decent form for Kent, is a favourite of selector Ed Smith, and the man in possession.

James Vince’s case diminished during the World Cup, when he blew a golden chance. In the bowling, if everyone is fit and Stuart Broad selected — a certainty early in the summer, but perhaps not later — then there is one spot to be shared by Jofra Archer, Sam Curran, Mark Wood and Chris Woakes.

With Jimmy Anderson nursing an injury that will not be risked against Ireland, we can expect debuts at Lord’s next week.

For Root, the summer’s work is only half done. Years ago, 2019 was identified as the summer to change the game, with two unique opportunities.

To open at Edgbaston, where Australia’s attempt to capture “positive energy coming out of the earth” by walking barefoot around the ground took a spectacular hit with that thumping defeat last week, is a boon.

“We couldn’t be in a better place, really,” said Root. “Having achieved what we’ve achieved here, there will be talk about us going one step better and picking ourselves up off the back of it.

“But ultimately the confidence this will give the guys to take into a series like that — especially the way we’ve played against Australia at Edgbaston in that semi-final — the guys involved will relish that and want more of that.

“The feeling of euphoria we felt at that ground and yesterday. To experience all that again is very exciting. Ashes cricket always has a different edge to it and that in itself will get everyone going.”

But eighteen months ago Down Under, Root and his team received a hiding.

Since, ‘sandpapergate’ tore the Australian game apart, but there is a sense of resurgence there, with competition for batting spots and a battery of impressive quicks.

They have not won the Ashes here since 2001, though. “It always is so special: the atmosphere, the two weeks leading in, the way it builds, the way the guys get excited about it,” said Root. “It’s like no other series in Test cricket. I’m really looking forward to it. It’ll be massive. Especially on the back of this. It will make it even bigger.”

Root will want to avenge that series in Australia, as will Ben Stokes — who was famously absent.

Trevor Bayliss, who has always struggled to exert the same influence over the Test team as the one-day side, will want to sign off on a high, too.

“It would be the pinnacle,” said Root, of doing the double. “It’s what we set out to do at the start of the year. Well, two or three years, actually. And we’re halfway there. There is a lot of hard work to go, but hopefully we can do that.”