Joe Root refuses to confirm if he will remain England captain following Ashes embarrassment

England were comfortably beaten by Australia again as they secured the Ashes with two tests to spare

Joe Root refused to comment on whether he will continue as England captain following an embarrassing defeat to Australia which secured the hosts the Ashes. England were bowled out for 68 at the MCG in Melbourne - gifting the hosts an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series - winning on the day by an innings and 14 runs. It's been a torrid time in test match cricket for Root and his teammates in 2021. After winning their first three games against Sri Lanka and India, England have since lost their previous nine test matches, but when asked if he will walk away from his captaincy role, Root refused to say and remained focused on the final two tests. "The series isn't over yet. We've got two very big games and, more than anything, it'd be wrong to look past that," he said. "I'm in the middle of a very important series. My energy has to be all about trying to win the next game. I can't be selfish and start thinking about myself." The captain then went on to admit that England need a "reset" in their approach to red ball cricket and called for his side to restore some pride in the last two tests. https://twitter.com/btsportcricket/status/1475637026640875526 Root said: "It's a big part of where the game is at in our country right now that the only place you can really learn is in the hardest environment for what is quite a young batting group.

"They're having to learn out here in the harshest environments. You look back at 2015 and the reset that happened in white-ball cricket, and maybe that's something that needs to be happening in our red-ball game as well.

"You've got to front up, make sure you stay very strong, and looking to improve all areas of our game, individually and collectively.

"You have to have a really strong inner belief and we need to put some pride back into the badge, to give people back home something to celebrate from this tour.

"It's bitterly disappointing to be 3-0 down, but we have to come away from this tour with a couple of wins."

The fourth test will begin in Sydney on 5 January before moving on to Hobart for the final test of the series. Related links:

• England collapse to hand Australia comfortable win in first Ashes Test
• Queensland Police troll England after Ashes batting collapse
• Shane Warne was made to look a fool just one ball into Ashes series