Joe Root says England have learned in chaotic conditions and are “well placed” going into the winter tour of South Africa after he led his side to their first-ever home whitewash of Pakistan.
Root (62no) and No 3 batter Jordan Cox (59no) put on a 128-run partnership that led England to an eight-wicket victory in the third Test at Edgbaston, bringing a positive end to a tumultuous summer that has seen a change in head coach, a new captain and numerous off-field issues make headlines.
The captain lauded his team’s professionalism and work ethic and praised their ability in the face of outside noise on the way to their comprehensive series win.
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Joe Root reflects on England’s remarkable summer batting performances despite the team registering just one century, and none during their series sweep of Pakistan.
“I think we’re in a better place than we were, definitely,” Root said. “Just having gone through [a tumultuous summer], I think you learn in chaos.
“You learn a lot about the group of players that you have, and for us to have come through this series as we have done, the way that we’ve gone about our cricket has been really pleasing, and as I say, [we want to] be a continuation of that now.
“In terms of everything that we’ve been through over the the last little while, for us to now be able to have the clarity and come through the other side of chaos, I think is a a really important part.
“You can only deal with what’s in front of you, right? And once once everything unfolded how it did, it was how we responded to that, and that was the most important thing. And I think the group have done that brilliantly.
Root: Pakistan pushback was good for the group
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Mark Butcher is joined by Urooj Mumtaz and Nasser Hussain to reflect on day four at Edgbaston which saw England recover from losing two very early wickets to seal victory in the third Test.
A satisfied Root reflected on what turned into a challenging third Test for England after a heroic 81 off 63 from Pakistan youngster Razaullah on day three left England with a target to chase, claiming that Pakistan’s resurgence will benefit his side in the long term:
“The fact that we’ve been able to start that journey and win a series in the manner that we have done has been really pleasing.
“We’ve had things go our way throughout the series. We had a little bit of pushback yesterday [from Pakistan] which, in a strange way, was quite a good thing for the group.
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Pakistan looked to have made a massive breakthrough with the prized wicket of Joe Root but Mohammad Ali had overstepped the crease for a no-ball.
“Fair play to Razaullah, he made things difficult for us. He played some wonderful shots and made it very difficult to set fields to. He struck the ball nicely – I don’t know how he didn’t pull a muscle, swinging the bat that hard.
“But for us to come through that and be so convincing in the way we’ve finished the series – throughout the whole three games – has been really pleasing.
“We were clinical towards the back end there, a big partnership to see us home. It’s exactly the sort of thing we’re after and puts us in a nice place going into the winter.”
‘Runs were hard to come by – not just for us’
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England’s start to day four could not have gone worse after Mohammad Abbas removed Ben Duckett and Emilio Gay in the first over
Concerns have been raised over the century-making ability of Root’s side, with both England and Pakistan failing to register a single ton despite making 17 half-centuries across the three-Test series, marking the first trilateral Test series in England without a hundred since the 1888 Ashes.
Root, though, brushed off worries over his side’s run-making, and praised his side’s performance in challenging batting conditions.
“I think everyone would want to go on [and make a century] after getting yourself in, but it has also been the nature of the summer and the surfaces we’ve had – it has been across the board, not just necessarily us.
Root made 62no to see his side to victory on day four
“The pleasing thing is, from 2-2 [after the first over if the second innings], to be able to see that home with [Root and Cox] set at the end is a step forward in the right direction.
“It would almost be more concerning if we were relying on just one or two individuals who were scoring hundreds consistently. The fact that everyone is contributing shows that they’re good enough to perform at this level.
“We’ll have different challenges in the winter and different surfaces, but can we keep taking strides forward as a group… that being one of them, guys going on and making those big contributions.
“That being said, we still made 400 twice in these conditions.”
England vs Pakistan – series results
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