Joe Root expects BBL stint to give him Ashes head start

His stint with Sydney Thunder for the eighth edition of Australia's domestic T20 league will allow him a chance to get a closer look at Australia talent before England take them on in a bid to regain the Ashes at home in 2019, Root has said.

"I will keep an eye on things while I'm out here," he told presspersons. "[I will] get a close view of certain players within this tournament and watching the Test matches on the tele."

Striking a note of caution, he added, "There's a lot of time between now and that Ashes series, and a lot of things can happen and change quite drastically in that space of time. So [it's about getting] as much information as you can now, but understanding that it doesn't always carry forward into six months' time.

"Any head start you can get ahead of a big series like that is crucial."

Root, one of the best in red-ball cricket, has struggled to seal a place in England's white-ball squads and he hopes his maiden stint in a foreign T20 league will help him develop his 20-over game.

"I watch the tournament every year. It looks like a great spectacle to be involved in," said the batsman, who will have England teammate Jos Buttler for company in the squad. "The cricket looks right at the top of the game.

"It's a great opportunity to play a block of T20 cricket, which I've not had for a long time now."

That the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2020 is in Australia was an added incentive for Root to be a part of the BBL. "The T20 World Cup will be here in a year's time or so. That was a nice addition," he said. "But more than anything it was getting the opportunity to play in one of the better domestic tournaments around the world."