Joe Root has refused to be drawn into the discussion around the state of English cricket despite Australia retaining the Ashes in record time and insists the series is not over.
England were humbled by an innings and 14 runs at the MCG on Tuesday as Australia claimed a series-clinching victory for an unassailable 3-0 Ashes lead.
Australia will now chase a 5-0 whitewash over England who were ripped apart inside an hour on the third day, bowled out for a meagre 68 which marked the nation's ninth-lowest Ashes score.
Despite the apparent gulf between the two sides and the disastrous nature of the MCG defeat, Root remained upbeat about achieving something out of the series ahead of Tests in Sydney and Hobart.
The situation has led to discussion around England's Test team and whether the County system is preparing players appropriately to compete at the elite level but Root would not be drawn on that.
"The series isn’t over yet," Root said at the post-game news conference. "We've got two very big games. It'd be wrong to look past that.
"As a player you talk about the next hour or the next session or the every next ball and managing that to be the best of your abilities, that applies to me as captain of this team.
"We have to make sure we come away from this tour with some better performances and a win or two."
Root added: "We need to put some pride back in to the badge. We need to give people back home something to celebrate and look fondly back on from this tour.
"It's bitterly disappointing to be 3-0 down but with two matches to go we have to make sure we come away with a couple of wins."
Root refused to use England's internal COVID-19 issues as an excuse for their ordinary third day display as they lost their remaining six wickets for 37 runs in 15.4 overs after resuming at 31-4.
The England skipper added that he felt his side had fought back on the second day with the ball, bowling Australia out for 267 to trail by 82 runs, but were unable to sustain their fight once again.
"I actually thought the way we went about our cricket on the field was excellent," Root told Fox Sports. "We put them under pressure and got ourselves in a position where we were very much in this Test match.
"We need to be more like that more frequently throughout the last two games."
He continued: "We've just got to do things for longer. There's been small pockets but nowhere near long enough to get into a Test match.
"We know the areas we need to improve on. We need to stay strong and make sure we use the next two Test matches as a real opportunity to take something away from this tour."
Ten Hag pays tribute Ferguson for defining Man Utd ethos after HOF induction
Erik ten Hag hailed Alex Ferguson as the defining personality in Manchester United's recent history following his induction into the Premier League Hall of Fame.
The league confirmed on Wednesday that Ferguson and his former rival Arsene Wenger are the first two inductees of 2023.
During a remarkable 27-year managerial stint at Old Trafford, Ferguson took standards to an altogether different level and he arguably remains the benchmark.
He took charge in 1986, six years before the foundation of the Premier League, and went on to win the competition 13 times – that is nine more than any other coach or manager.
United are waiting for their first Premier League title since Ferguson's retirement in 2013, and Ferguson's legacy still lauds over every manager who arrives at the club.
Ten Hag is the latest to try his luck and recognises the influence held by Ferguson, which is acting as a guide for the Dutchman as he looks to bring the glory days back to Old Trafford.
"You feel it every day because he left a legacy and Manchester United is Alex Ferguson," Ten Hag told the Premier League.
"He set the highest standards, the highest values, and brought the winning attitude. He built that in the club… and that is the standard that you must face if you want to play for Manchester United or work for Manchester United.
"First of all, he knew when to rebuild and reconstruct a new team because he did it over two decades and every time he was successful. He did it with a balance of homegrown players and bringing big stars in.
"He got the best out of it, like working with Eric Cantona, working with [Ruud] van Nistelrooy, [Robin] van Persie, Wayne Rooney.
"That is huge if you are able to handle those personalities, but also to let them play as a team. That was always one of his most important qualities – that the team is always above any individual. It's difficult to construct one winning team. He did it so many times!”
Ten Hag was spotted having dinner with Ferguson in February before United played host to Barcelona in the Europa League.
At the time he spoke of how "committed" Ferguson still was to the club with his desire to help those who came after him.
Now, he is hoping to make such meetings more of a regular occurrence, such is Ferguson's wealth of experience.
"His experience is huge, so with all the knowledge he can help you with, he can," Ten Hag added.
"I'm really pleased that he wants to share his knowledge with me. It's great to talk and learn from him, and I hope we can do it more often."
Rumour Has It: Man Utd sanction £80m move for Kane to get the jump on transfer rivals
Harry Kane's future at Tottenham remains in limbo, given his contract status and the departure of Antonio Conte.
The 29-year-old forward, who recently became Spurs' all-time leading scorer, is out of contract in 2024.
Kane has previously spoken about his desire to contend for silverware and almost joined Manchester City in 2021.
TOP STORY – MAN UTD SANCTION KANE MOVE
The Manchester United bosses have sanctioned a potential £80million deal for Tottenham striker Harry Kane, reports the Daily Star.
United are ready to ramp up their interest in the England captain, who has interest from Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Chelsea.
The report claims United hope to get the jump on their rivals and open up talks soon, with a view to having a deal agreed with Kane within weeks.
ROUND-UP
– The Times reports Bayern Munich want to sign Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount who previously worked with the German champions' new boss Thomas Tuchel.
– Arsenal are circling for Eintracht Frankfurt's Danish midfielder Jesper Lindstrom who may be available for €30m, reports Sport1.
– The Mirror claims Liverpool have joined the battle to sign Evan Ndicka from Eintracht Frankfurt as a free agent in the off-season.
– Barcelona may cash in on Samuel Umtiti's revival on loan at Lecce and look to recoup a transfer fee this off-season according to SPORT.
– Sky Italy claims former Real Madrid boss and France World Cup winner Zinedine Zidane is on Tottenham's shortlist to replace Conte, along with Mauricio Pochettino, Julian Nagelsmann and Luis Enrique.
Rybakina wins 12th straight to reach Miami Open semi-finals, Pegula beats Potapova
Elena Rybakina is now two wins away from completing the rare 'Sunshine Double' after defeating Martina Trevisan 6-3 6-0 to reach the Miami Open semi-finals on Tuesday.
Only four women have ever claimed the Sunshine Double – which requires winning both the Indian Wells Open and Miami Open. Steffi Graf did it in both 1994 and 1996, Kim Clijsters did it in 2005, Victoria Azarenka accomplished the feat in 2016 and current world number one Iga Swiatek did it just 12 months ago.
Rybakina knocked off Swiatek and world number two Aryna Sabalenka in consecutive matches en route to the Indian Wells title, and she has now extended her winning streak to 12 with Tuesday's victory. Against Trevisan, Rybakina served another 10 aces compared to zero from the Italian.
In her fourth-round match the Kazakhstan representative became the first WTA player this season to post three consecutive matches with at least 10 aces, and with another she became the first woman since Serena Williams at the 2020 US Open to do so in four consecutive matches at the same tournament.
She needed just 27 minutes to race through the second set, and in the process she booked a semi-final against third seed Jessica Pegula.
America's top hope, Pegula had to come from behind against Russia's Anastasia Potapova in the 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7-2) result, saving two match points in the deciding set to force the pivotal tiebreaker.
The match was delayed for hours due to persistent rain, and the contest lasted two hours and 38 minutes, meaning they did not finish up on court until nearly 1:30am local time.
While consistently making it deep into major tournaments, Pegula only has two WTA singles titles to her name, and only once since the end of 2019.
With one more win she can book her spot in the final, and a chance to claim her second WTA 1000 crown after breaking through at the 2022 Guadalajara Open.
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