Ian Bell: Under-fire captain Joe Root needs teammates to step up to his level

Former England batsman Ian Bell and Ryan Harris were discussing the Ashes on the Inside Edge series with bet365.

Former Ashes stars Ian Bell and Ryan Harris believe Joe Root should stay on as England's Test captain despite Australia racing into an unassailable 3-0 lead in the Ashes series down under.

There has been speculation over Root's future after England's innings defeat in the third Test in Melbourne, where they were bowled out for 68, but former Australia bowler Harris says: "I believe Joe Root is a very good leader and he should keep the job. It's too easy to sack someone when everyone's down."

Five-time Ashes winner Bell agrees, saying: "He's carried this team. He's dragged England through with the bat in the past 18 months. He just needs other players around him to step up to somewhere close to his level.

"Whenever England or Australia lose an Ashes there's a lot of emotion flying around. There's so much to dissect, the decision-making, the batting, the dropped catches."

Bell says England's decision to leave out James Anderson and Stuart Broad for the first Test in Brisbane was a mistake. "I felt Broad bowling to David Warner early in the series was a must, a battle that had to happen," he says. "Instead Warner got off and running, got a 90, and our two senior guys were on the sidelines.

"Going into the series I had Australia as massive favourites but it's not even been close and that's a difficult thing to take. If we didn't score enough first-innings runs we were always going to struggle. India last year had success out here off the back of some of their guys scoring hundreds and we haven't had one yet.

"England put out the best batting unit they could but if you're averaging under 40 in Test cricket, facing Australia on these pitches is going to be tough."

A couple of the less experienced Aussie players have caught Bell's eye during the first three Tests, particularly young all-rounder Cameron Green. "He looks like he could be the real deal as a bowler," Bell says. "Over the next ten years he could be the key ingredient for Australia winning home and away.

"And it looked like a good decision from the selectors to allow Marcus Harris to play on his home ground [in Melbourne]. That innings [of 76], on that pitch, was massive in setting up the win for Australia."

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