Rodney Hogg Predicts Joe Root Will Be a 'Total Failure' in Ashes

Overview

• Hogg told 10 Sport that Root’s method “does not work in Australia,” calling him England’s weakness nine days before the first Test.
• He cited a specific flaw, claiming Root plays the ball under his nose and glides between third slip and gully, an approach he says leads to edges on Australian pitches.
• Root is England’s all-time leading Test run-scorer with 13,543, yet he has never made a Test century in Australia despite nine fifties in 14 Tests there.
• Coverage highlighted Root’s lower averages in Australia, including a reported 35 overall and 14 in Perth, where the series opens.
• Contrasting voices and local media have weighed in, with Matthew Hayden backing Root to score a century and a Perth newspaper dubbing him “Average Joe” as England arrive.