Joe Root assists Jack Leach and Rory Burns to recover on Ashes' second test

Captain Joe Root supports crank Jack Leach and opening batsman Rory Burns to recover from disappointing performances in Ashes' first Test as England prepare for Australia in Game Two in Adelaide. Root refused to rule out Leach's selection for Thursday's Pink Ball Test in Adelaide, despite making 102 runs and only taking a wicket of 13 overs during England's nine-wicket bats at Brisbane.

England controversially rested seasoned fast bowlers James Anderson and Stuart Broad for the first Test, but Root said the pair were "fit and ready to go" in Adelaide. Leach's meager return at Brisbane would normally dump him to make way on attack, but England will want a specialized slow bowler for Adelaide's traditionally spinning-friendly wicket.

"We obviously have some important decisions to make," Root told reporters in Adelaide. “I'm sure [Leach] wants to answer, and he'll want to get back on the show and make a difference. "Some of the reasons we're going to be addressing from this point on should give him a lot more and also bring him spin."

Root also assisted opening batsman Burns, who fell to the series' first ball in Brisbane and then lost a crucial chance from David Warner.

"Rory is a very strong character, there is no doubt about that side of his game," said Root, who was heavily criticized himself in England after winning the throw in Brisbane and choosing to beat first. "He's going to come back and want an answer and want to put some big points on the board."

England's hopes for a return to the series will be greatly bolstered if Ben Stokes can find his best, but the all-rounder had his first competitive game in Brisbane after a break in six months due to a finger injury and mental health problems while playing during the Opening Test Seemed to bear knee injury.

However, Stokes dismissed concerns that a knee injury could keep him off the second Test and insisted he is ready for the Adelaide competition. "People will have seen me rub my knee from time to time when I was on the field, but rest assured I'm fine," Stokes wrote in a column for the Daily Mirror. "It's an old injury that keeps flaring up, but I know how to deal with it."

Australia have their own fitness concerns ahead of the second Test, with pace bowler Josh Hazlewood banned from the second because of a side load he suffered in Brisbane. Jhye Richardson and Michael Neser, who played a tour game for Australia A against the England Lions last week, are on the Australian squad as speed cover.

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Meanwhile, the Australian centurion of the first Test, Travis Head, insists that Leach could still play a role to play in the second Test. Named Player of the Game for his 152, Head helped harm Leach's characters by crushing him for four fours and one six.

However, Adelaide Local Head argues that there is always plenty of encouragement for the slow bowlers on his home court. "Spin is a big factor, we've seen it here for a long time," he said.

“Lloyd Pope for South Australia spun the ball and I spun the ball every now and then, which is rare! “Whenever we've played Nathan Lyon here for New South Wales, it's always been nearly impossible to hit him with the jump and spin he can get from that wicket and the mottled grass.

"He [Leach] is definitely going to have opportunities on this series, that wicket is going to be one, it will likely be sketchy and likely to spin. “There was definitely a plan to pressurize him [in Brisbane]. It wasn't the way we brought him down, it just worked that way. "