Root puts Ashes on the back burner

JOE ROOT is champing at the bit to get stuck into India as he warned any thoughts of the Ashes must be placed on the back burner for now.

- By Gary Fitzgerald

The Yorkshire run-machine is fully pumped up and ready to wreak more havoc with the bat as England prepare for the crucial opening Test of the five-match series at Headingley, which starts tomorrow.

England head into the contest on the back of a crushing win in the one-off Test with Zimbabwe. But Ben Stokes' men now face a daunting 10-Test sequence, including the Ashes Down Under this winter.

Root said: "You can only be excited about these massive occasions. These are the series you play the game for. The opportunities in front of us this summer and then the end of the year in Australia are epic.