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Rarely for an England player gets labeled as complaining down under, but when Joe Root faced questions about the necessity of day-night Tests in a series like the Ashes, he offered an honest answer.

“I personally don’t think so,” Root stated before England's net session in Brisbane. “It’s obviously very successful and well-received here in Australia, and the hosts have an impressive track record with the pink ball. It's understandable why one match is scheduled.

“Ultimately, we are aware well in advance that it’s scheduled. It’s part of preparing for such contests. For a series like this, does it need it? I don’t think so … yet it doesn't imply it shouldn’t be included. I'm fine with it. I don’t think it matches the conventional format. But it's on the calendar. We’ve got to play it, and we just need to be better our opponents at it.”

Joe Root's Performance Under Lights Declines

Similar to his opposite number, Australia's Steve Smith, Root’s typically strong stats see a drop with the pink ball. The England star has featured in each of the seven of England’s floodlit Tests to date, and despite a hundred in his first outing against West Indies in 2017, his overall average above 50 drops to 38.5 under lights.

Conversely, bowler Mitchell Starc averages 28.97 with a strike-rate around 50 in general, yet these figures improve to 17.08 and 33.3 correspondingly with the pink ball. In his last pink-ball appearance, against West Indies, he claimed six wickets for nine runs as West Indies were dismissed for 27—his best performance that he bettered with seven for 58 in the next Test.

Key Battle Between Root and Starc May Determine Outcome

The head-to-head of Root and Starc is shaping up to be one of the key contests in the Ashes. While Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood usually caused him issues, in their absence last week, it was Starc who dismissed him for a duck and eight.

Root later reasoned the initial wicket came from a fine delivery—the type that may not reach to slip in England. The second, when he chopped on, amid the team's slump, was a miscalculation on his part. “I am confident in my ability,” he stated. “I know I’m going to return to form.”

England's Hurdles and Readiness

Starc now uses the wobble seam as his preferred weapon these days—he noted he wished he'd heeded to Hazlewood and Cummins advice sooner—and in humid Brisbane, swing could come into play. England, trailing 1-0, have more to overcome in this Test, and runs from their premier batter would help in recovering from a self-inflicted hole.

This may not require a century if another rapid shootout unfolds, yet Root's absence of a century on Australian soil remains a talking point. “I didn’t have long enough to dwell on it,” was his humble reply when asked whether that record weighed on him in Perth.

Team Selection and Chance for History

Root and his teammates trained intensely on Sunday, to the sound of hip-hop setting the tone on a hot afternoon. Monday and Wednesday are crucial for England’s preparations, conducted in evening conditions.

Mark Wood’s absence due to a knee issue opens up a spot in the lineup, with Jacks netting with the main batters hints he could be the frontrunner. The all-rounder’s off-breaks are decent, and extra runs at number eight could balance any bowling leaks.

However, seamer Tongue has been with the Lions in Canberra and remains an option should England choose an all-pace attack, while off-spinner Shoaib Bashir was in the squad previously. Plenty to consider, indeed, at a venue where England haven’t won a match for decades.

“It is a chance to create history,” Root said on this fact. “It would make it all the sweeter if we succeed at this ground.”