Captain Joe Root has refused to rule out the selection of spinner Jack Leach and opening batsman Rory Burns for Thursday’s pink-ball Test against Australia in Adelaide, saying both these players will be eager to have an impact in the ongoing Ashes series.

Leach leaked 103 runs and took just one wicket from 13 overs during England’s nine-wicket thrashing in Brisbane, but England will need a specialized slow bowler on Adelaide’s traditionally spin-friendly wicket.

“We’ve obviously got some big decisions to make,” Root told reporters in Adelaide. “I’m sure [Leach] will want to respond and he’ll want to get back into the series and have an impact.

“Some of the grounds that we will be going on from this point onwards should offer a lot more for him and bring spin into it as well.”

Root has also backed opener Burns, who fell to Mitchell Starc on the first ball of the Ashes in Brisbane and then dropped a crucial chance from David Warner.

“Rory is a very strong character, you can’t doubt that side of his game,” said Root, himself strongly criticized back in England after winning the toss in Brisbane and opting to bat first. “He’ll come back in and want a response and want to put some big scores on the board.”

Meanwhile, star all-rounder Ben Stokes dismissed concerns a knee injury could keep him out of the second Test and insisted he is ready for the Adelaide contest.

“People will have seen me rubbing my knee from time to time when I was in the field, but rest assured I’m fine,” Stokes wrote in a column for the Daily Mirror. “It is an old injury that flares up every now and again, but I know how to manage it.”