"I know the direction I want": Joe Root to implement blueprint during fifth Ashes Test

NICK HOWSON AT THE OVAL: England have struggled for individuality in his 32 outings as skipper of the red-ball team - but is that set to change?

Identity has been the primary buzzword of Joe Root's tenure as England captain. An unavoidable weight on his shoulders, it has become the elusive characteristic of his 32 Tests at the helm.

The lack of a genuine strategy - this Ashes series alone has only been thought about for a number of weeks - has been a constant theme of a series which sees Australia 2-1 ahead heading into the fifth Test at The Oval. England's displays have been based on instinct rather than deep-rooted plans, and they have been exposed.

Philosophy isn't something that can be harvested overnight or even across a single series. By its very definition, it is something which runs through the veins of a team. It cannot be artificially created, it has to have meaning.

The success of Eoin Morgan's World Cup-winning side proves that while attainable, it can take many years to make any ideology stick, not least work. Though the World Test Championship lingers in the background Root has two-and-a-half years until the next genuine challenge when England travel Down Under in a bid to regain the urn again.

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And rather than the fifth Test being the climax of a cycle which ends in Australian supremacy, Root instead wants it to be the start of a process.

"I know the direction I want to take this team moving forward," he added. "It is about starting that now and not after this series. 

"Trying to make sure we use this as a stepping stone, win this game and then have a really strong winter and move well as a group.

"In term of personnel things might change as they have for a while. Ultimately we have to focus on the core group of players that are going to lead this team forward home and away. 

"And build from that and towards winning in Australia and use the next two to focus on putting in awning tour Down Under. It is a real incentive to be part of something really special down there."

^{Does Sam Curran represent England's future?}

Though the squad is unchanged for The Oval, it is interesting to consider how much of the XI selected for the fifth Test reflects Root's own hopes and dreams.

Sam Curran comes in after having a watching brief for much of the series. Chris Woakes is back too after he was dropped for Old Trafford. Craig Overton and a disappointing Jason Roy miss out. 

The touring party selected to play in the two Tests in New Zealand in November will also be fascinating, given the opportunity the matches represent to try something new. The same old faces and the selectors and Root will be accused of trying to paper over the cracks, but fresh bodies will at least suggest there is a plan at large.

So while this week at The Oval might not provide all the answers for how England can develop as a Test team it might be the landmark moment many look back on if the urn is in Root's hands in the winter of 2021-22.