Ponting knows nothing about England dressing room: Root

Melbourne, Dec 25 (IANS) England skipper Joe Root hit back at former Australia captain Ricky Ponting and said he knows nothing about his team or what is going on in their dressing room.

Earlier, Ponting termed Root as a “little boy” leading England in the ongoing winter’s Ashes tour against Australia.

“He’s entitled to his opinion, but he doesn’t spend any time in our dressing room or around the squad,” the 26-year-old was quoted as saying by Sky Sports

“I’m obviously going to disagree with that — I’m sure if you asked any of the guys in the camp, the coaches or support staff or players, they would back me up on that,” Root added.

The right-handed batsman, who has scored 5,499 runs for England in Test cricket at an average of 52.37, also said the “little boy” tag does not go with him and he knows what he can do on the field.

“I don’t think I go about things as a ‘little boy’, for sure,” he added. “I have my own way of doing things — I think it’s important you don’t try to be something you’re not,” the top-order batsman said.

“I know there are occasions where you might have to be quite strong in front of the group. I may not appear to do that out on the field but there are certainly times when I know that I can do that, and I have done that,” Root added.