England and I must still improve, says Ashes Man of the Series Joe Root
Sunday 23 August 2015 17:22, UK
Joe Root says both he and England still need to improve, despite being named his side's Man of the Series at the Oval on Sunday.
Root also picked up the Compton-Miller medal for the Ashes Man of the Series, but the 24-year-old insists he must keep progressing.
"All I'm going to do is keep doing what I've done all this year and keep trying to improve and become the best I possibly can," he said.
Root's 480 runs in the Ashes have taken him to number one in the ICC Test batting rankings, but Root admits he will need to improve on his lacklustre outing in the fifth Test to maintain his position at the top of the game.
"I need to score more runs than I did in this Test match going forward," said Root after scoring just 11 runs in England's second innings.
However, the Yorkshire batsman is not letting England's disappointment at the Oval overshadow his side's achievement in the series: "Credit has to go to Australia. They've outplayed us in all departments," he said.
"Unfortunately, we've got to take that on the chin, but we can celebrate now."
And Root is planning on celebrating in style: "Tonight will be hard to beat, if I'm being perfectly honest," he said after being asked about the highlights of his series.
"All of it's been great. It's hard to pick individual parts out. I just love spending time with that group of guys and I look forward to everything going forward as well."
