England batsman Joe Root has said that he hoped that he has moved on from the controversial attack he suffered at the hands of Australia's David Warner behind him as he prepares for his first Ashes series.
Root was punched by Warner in a Birmingham bar after the Australia opener was apparently angered by the sight of the Yorkshire batsman wearing a green and gold wig following England's victory over Australia in the ICC Champions Trophy, Sport24 reports.
According to the report, Warner was subsequently suspended by Cricket Australia until the start of the first Ashes Test while Root was cleared of all blame by the England and Wales Cricket Board for what they deemed an 'unprovoked attack'.
Determined to put the incident behind him, Root said that he has accepted Warner's apology and added that as far as he is concerned, the incident has been left far behind, ahead of England's Ashes warm-up four-day match against Essex starting on Sunday.
The report further said that the incident appeared to have had no lasting effect on Root as within four days he was playing in England's next match at the Champions Trophy, where he made a fifty against Sri Lanka at The Oval.
Stating that he has tried to concentrate on his game despite the situation being far from ideal, Root also said that he hoped that he could take the confidence from that game into the rest of the summer.
Although Root agreed that media attention, pressure and interest will only intensify during the Ashes, still considered the pinnacle of cricket by many, he however, said that the series is just the same, with 11 players, like in any other game, adding that he is trying to take the series step by step.
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However, Root refused to downplay the importance of the Ashes, saying that he had always dreamt of playing in the historic series while he was growing up.
Root scored his maiden Test hundred, and on his Headingley home ground too, against New Zealand last month as England completed a 2-0 series win, the report added.