Joe no closer to unmasking the 'phantom snipper'
Thursday 20 August 2015 13:26, UK
Joe Root talks The Oval, his art skills, playing detective, and why some of his team-mates fancy a crack at San Marino...
Football is a big thing in the England dressing room and so it was great to get a visit from Roy Hodgson and Ray Lewington at The Oval this week.
We all play football a little bit but I think some guys have got ideas above their station now and expect to be called up to the England squad for the game against San Marino!
Seriously, though, Roy was really nice and gave us a different insight – his words of wisdom were a bit different than Cooky's, that's for sure!
I'm not sure what he made of Mark Wood's dive, though!
Mark's got a bit of a reputation for that, to be fair, but we'll forgive him because he did bowl the Ashes-winning ball after all.
We met up for the first time since Trent Bridge on Monday afternoon and the buzz was definitely still there, it was exciting to be back among the lads and get back to work, if you like.
I have had a busy few days, what with training, TV commitments – and hunting out the 'phantom snipper' I spoke about in my last column.
I still haven't worked out his identity, though, so maybe he will be outed at The Oval…
The TV stuff I mentioned was in an interview with Sky Sports' Ian Ward, which you will see during the fifth Test.
Wardy is a great laugh and someone I always like speaking to. He was certainly a lot drier for our chat than the last time I saw him!
As a team, we now are focussed on heading to The Oval and getting another special result.
We had already won the Ashes by the time we went there in 2013 but that didn't make lifting the urn any less special.
I still vividly remember standing next to Jonathan Trott as Cooky kissed the urn and the champagne went flying.
The game was also pretty special – we looked like we might win it until bad light came into play – and I hope we can provide something just as entertaining this time around.
I can reassure everyone that we won't be treating this as a dead rubber and I know Australia won't either, they will come out fighting like they always do.
I've said this a lot in my column but winning the first hour will be crucial for us – if we do that and continue to take a positive approach then hopefully we can win the series by an even bigger margin.
The last time I played at The Oval in a Test for England, against India last summer, I scored 149 so the place does have really good memories for me.
It has a reputation for being a good batting track but I've always felt there is something in it for the bowlers and it won't feel easy to bat on when Australia's attack comes steaming in!
This game will be the Cricket United Test, with everyone who attends the game on Saturday encouraged to wear as much blue as they can to support the cause.
We have seen how special Jane McGrath Day has become in the Sydney Test match and it will be great if we can create something similar at The Oval for such a good cause.
Myself and other past and present England players were asked to draw each other for a Cricket United auction and I think everyone has seen Freddie Flintoff's picture of me now – the one where he has me down as a baby.
In his defence, it is a very good picture but I'll have to work out how to get him back – maybe I'll wear a Freddie mask at some point in The Oval Test. Keep your eyes peeled…
I'm pretty pleased with how my drawing of the 2005 Ashes-winning team turned out, I've always been reasonably handy with a pencil and art was probably my second best subject at school behind PE.
Watch coverage of the fifth Ashes Test live on Sky Sports Ashes HD from Thursday. You can also watch the fifth Test with a NOW TV Sports Day Pass. Plus, our Ashes Events Centre - the best of Sky Cricket's analysis at your fingertips - is available on our iPad app.
