Gillespie defends Root’s decision to play Leach and says that the skipper is being unfairly treated

Brisbane, December 12, 2012 : .

Jason Gillespie, an ex-Australian pace bowler, has spoken out to defend Joe Root, embattled England Test Captain.

Root felt Root was treated unfairly after a series of losses this season.The latest of these being the 9 wicket loss at The Gabba in the Ashes TestGillespie also supported Roots choice to play Jack Leach during the Test, saying that Root wanted to rest his pace bowlers by pushing the spinner into service.

Unfortunately though, he ran for too many runs.England pacers Ollie Robinson, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood were all economically sound to a certain extent.

However, Leach, a 30-year-old left arm spinner, was a bit more economical than the others.He conceded 102 runs in his first innings runs after only 13 runs at an economy rate close to eight.

Root has had a lot of responsibility for quite some time now as Englands top player.However, the critics hes received about his captaincy are unfair.To give his quicks rest, he would have hoped that Leach would average 2.5-3 runs per over.Gillespie wrote in Sundays column for Dailymail.co.uk that this didnt occur and it was something to think about going forward.Joe is an excellent captain.

Hes always learning and improving, and has taken a proactive approach to things rather than letting them run.A captain cannot work without the right players, and Leachs treatment by Australia will prove to be an eye opener for him.

There has been some talk about England quick Ollie Robinsons drop in pace during the Test but Gillespie saw no problem with that, saying that he was comfortably the pick of the visiting team seamers."Robinsons key strength is his accuracy.

Put a shoebox on a length and hes hitting it more often than any of his team-mates, no question.Be clear about what type of bowler he is.Hes not rapid, hes 80-84mph when hes bowling his best.Technology suggested a drop into the low 70s towards the end of day two but I wouldnt look too much into that.Not all bowlers hold their optimum pace.

"akm/