NZ vs ENG | Batting at No 4 suits my game and captaincy, claims Joe Root

England had a tough Ashes at home as they tied the series but failed to win back the prestigious Urn. Now England are gearing up to take over New Zealand in their backyard as Test skipper Joe Root has informed that he will be playing at his usual No.4 position in this series.

Root who has promoted himself up the order, to No.3, for the Ashes but failed to make much of an impact. Root was able to muster only 325 runs in 10 innings at an average of 32.5 as he failed to notch up a ton in the series. His poor run with the bat is what must have triggered his decision to drop back to his usual position.

“I'd like to be consistent with it now, moving forward. It doesn't always work exactly how you want it to but it would be nice for that to be the case. I just think it suits my game a little bit more. It definitely fits in with captaincy a little bit better for me," Sportstar quoted Root as saying.

"I know previous captains have preferred to get out there early and just get amongst it but I quite like to split the two and to really focus on my batting. I've found over time that, generally, I've consistently played better in that position."

The two match Test series against the Balck Caps is scheduled to kick off next week at Mount Maunganui where Joe Denly, who is currently nursing an ankle injury, will take up the No.3 spot. Denly also had a quite similar Ashes as his skipper where he scored 312 runs in 10 innings.