Root, Vaughan clear the air

England captain Joe Root says he's spoken to former skipper Michael Vaughan and accepts the reasons for his stinging criticism following their heavy loss at Trent Bridge last week.

Root was taken aback initially when Vaughan accused England's batsmen of failing to "respect" Test cricket in the 340-run trouncing, which levelled the series against South Africa at 1-1 with two to play.

Quick Single: Vaughan hits out at England batsmen

As Root prepared for the third Test at The Oval, the 100th Test at the venue, he spoke in conciliatory tones about his fellow Sheffield Collegiate graduate needing to do his job as a pundit.

Root admits he did take the criticism from his friend personally at the time, but he has come to understand Vaughan's point of view.

"I did speak to Michael," he said. "It's his job, isn't it, to be opinionated and say what he thinks.

"At the time I was very disappointed with the way we played and caught a little bit off guard with the question.

"I think as a player you can understand you are going to make mistakes and you're not always going to get it right. But it can be quite difficult to take something when it's regarding respecting Test cricket.

"It felt a bit personal at the time, but on reflection you have to understand people have an obligation to do their job and say how they feel they see it."

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Vaughan clarified that his claim England had not respected Test cricket stemmed from the attacking manner in which they batted in Nottingham, which he believed would have been more at home in limited-overs cricket.

"The England batting has been appalling. Maybe it's a lack of respect about what the game is," he told the BBC at the time.

"They look like they are playing a Twenty20 game. I look at the approach - yes, the ball has done a little bit but it's not been drastic.

"They have this approach of attack, attack, attack. There is no thought or feeling of seeing off a bowler or wearing a team down."

Root concedes some of the critique was constructive after England had been bowled out twice in less 100 overs for the first time in home Test since 2009.

But he insisted the answers must come from the players themselves, not expert observers.

"(It was) a little bit (constructive) maybe, but it does have to come from within," he added.

"We need to make sure we are doing everything we can to help each other. Not that we haven't been, but when it is tough we really need to get tight.

"That is something we really need to pride ourselves on further down the line."

England look set to name three debutants at The Oval with confirmation Toby Roland-Jones and Tom Westley will play as respective injury replacements for Mark Wood and Gary Ballance.

Root also gave a strong indication that Dawid Malan will come into the side for his first Test in place of Liam Dawson, but the final XI will be confirmed on the morning of the match.