"I do feel that having already played a Test series vs WI should play in our favour" : Joe Root

[MenInG]

"I do feel that having already played a Test series vs WI should play in our favour" : Joe Root

Joe Root speaking to media - some answers below related to Pakistan:

Q: What different threat Pakistan will pose compared to the Windies?

Root: "I think they have a very talented bowling group, similar to the West Indies; They have some very good seamers and some experienced leg-spinners in the squad too; So they will be different challenges, ball spinning away from the right-handers for one and the seam attack will have a slightly different make-up; They have a left-armer within their squad and some real pace and some young talent which we wouldn't have seen and come across before in Test match cricket; And then you have wily campaigners like Mohammad Abbas who has proven on previous tours here and also in County Cricket that he knows the conditions very well which he will look to exploit with some lateral movement; So in terms of their bowling they pose a lot of challenges so but we are very aware of that and we will look to counter that the best we can; We are aware of everything that they have and will throw at us but ultimately, we continue to keep looking at our own game and our own plans and find ways of making big scores"


Q: What do you know about Naseem Shah? Have you spoken to Aussies about him?

Root: "I haven't spoken to anyone about him but have watched a lot of footage and he is an exciting prospect; Looks like he is very skilful and has a lot of pace; You just have to go out there and gauge it; You can speak to as many people (about him) as you want but until you get out there and get a feel for it, you really don't know what you are up against"


PakPassion.net: Given that England have played 3 matches already, does that give them an advantage over Pakistan?

Root: "Yes, naturally having played some red-ball, competitive and high intense Test cricket will definitely serve us well going into this series and will probably give us a little bit of a head start, as well as playing in our home conditions and have had good success in the previous 2 games played on this ground; It will give our group a huge amount of confidence; I think its important that we don't take that for granted, and we are very aware that Pakistan are a very talented team and will be very much up for this series, and we don't just stroll into this game, we are very much on it from the start, but I do feel that (series vs WI) should play in our favour, slightly"

 

[MenInG]

England will assess whether Ben Stokes is fit to bowl before naming their team for the first Test against Pakistan at Emirates Old Trafford.

Stokes played as a specialist batsman in the series-sealing win over West Indies last month with a quad injury preventing him from bowling.

Captain Joe Root says a decision is likely to made on the morning of Wednesday's opener against Pakistan.

Stokes bowled at training on Monday but rain in Manchester meant he was unable to do the same on Tuesday.

Root told reporters: "We still need to know a little bit more about where Ben's at.

"Unfortunately because of the weather [on Tuesday] he wasn't able to bowl outside so we will probably have to wait on that throughout tonight and make a decision in the morning.

"Even if we went with the same balance as the last game, it might be that we could see him bowl in the second innings. We just need to make sure we are every clear on where is physically.

"Ben is so committed to the team that he will always put his body on the line but the more he has played the more mature he has got.

You look at how he has performed with the bat, the runs he has scored and the way he is playing, and what he can do in the field, it is quite evident he poses a huge threat against any side. He can play in different ways with the bat – absorb pressure for long periods of time and then score at 10 an over. Sides around the world will look at him and want his wicket as he can hurt you if he gets in.

"He has got better at understanding there are limitations to what he can do sometimes - even though those limitations are further for him than a lot of other players.

"He knows how important he is within our group. He is getting better at looking after himself and it is important we look after him as well.

"What we have got with this squad of players is a number of different options we can go down. We have everything to cover the conditions and the pitch. Whatever that throws at us, we think we will have an answer."

England played seamers Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Chris Woakes and Jofra Archer in the final Test against West Indies, alongside spinner Dom Bess, with batsman Zak Crawley dropping out of the XI.

Crawley, paceman Mark Wood and all-rounder Sam Curran remain in England's unchanged 14-man squad for the first of three behind-closed-doors Tests against Pakistan.

Speaking on England's wealth of options, Root - who confirmed Stuart Broad will play - added: "It's a fantastic position [to be in].

"We were forced into making a slight change in balance of the side in the last game with Ben unable to bowl and we saw how well that worked, so to know we have had success with it will give everyone confidence.

"Ben doing everything he can do is huge for the team - it shows how pivotal he is in terms of balancing the side - but if he is not fit we have other ways to go and a number of guys who have put in fantastic performances, especially our seamers.

"I couldn't be happier to have so many headaches and for us as a side to have strength in depth in a number of areas, so long may it continue. [People missing out] is part and parcel of professional sport - it's tough but it's good tough.

"If we want to be the No 1 side in the world we are going to have to have a battery of fast bowlers who can come in and perform at any stage, especially if we are playing back-to-back games.

"It's very exciting to have Woody and Jofra with the ability to bowl over 90 miles an hour and fit that in with Stuart, Jimmy, Woakes and Curran who have a number of different skills. They complement each other."

Joe Root, James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Ollie Pope, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

https://www.skysports.com/cricket/n...es-before-naming-team-for-first-pakistan-test

 

[MenInG]

Joe Root believes England will have a "head start" against Pakistan in their three-Test series following their recent victory over West Indies.

England came from behind to beat Jason Holder's men 2-1 and will be seeking back-to-back series wins behind closed doors when they face a Pakistan side who are unbeaten in Test series in England since 2010.

Captain Root says his team's experience in bio-secure conditions in a competitive Test series could give them an edge over Pakistan, whose preparation has been limited to internal warm-up games.

"We are used to playing in this environment, having three games under our belt, and we have played some really good cricket in the last two," Root told reporters ahead of the first #raisethebat Test at Emirates Old Trafford.

"Naturally, having played some high-intensity, competitive Test cricket will definitely serve us well going into this series. That, and obviously playing in our home conditions, gives us a head start."

England rebounded from a four-wicket defeat to West Indies at The Ageas Bowl in Southampton - a game for which Root was absent due to the birth of his second child - to win the next two Tests by 113 runs and 269 runs at Emirates Old Trafford.

Root says England's successes in Manchester will give them another lift as they look to snap a poor run of results in first Tests, having lost eight of their previous 10 opening games in multi-match series.

"Previous good results will fill our group with confidence - that should play in our favour - plus guys are up to speed with the rhythm of Test cricket so there is no excuse going into this week," said Root.

"It's important we don't take that for granted as Pakistan are very talented and will be up for this series but we are playing some very good cricket.

"We feel we are starting to emulate our game-plan more consistently. The challenge is to keep trying to nail that as consistently as possible and to get better at doing that over and over again.

"We are very aware that in previous series we have not got off to the best of starts and been 1-0 down so there is a real focus on trying to get a win early on. It is always hard work when you feel like you are behind."

Pakistan have a varied seam attack, including 17-year-old right-arm quick Naseem Shah, young left-arm paceman Shaheen Afridi, metronomic seamer Mohammad Abbas and leg-spinners Yasir Shah and Shadab Khan.

"We know they are a very good side and have had a lot of success in English conditions of late," said Root.

"They have got some fantastic players and done some special things here.

I have watched a lot of footage and he is very exciting. He looks very skilful and has pace so we will just have to get out there and try and gauge it.

Joe Root on Naseem Shah

"Similar to West Indies, they have a very talented bowling group and some experienced leg-spinners as well. There will be different challenges - the ball spinning away from the bat for the right handers for one - while their seam attack has a different make-up with the left-arm angle within their squad.

"There is some raw pace and young talent we won't have seen before in Test cricket, and then a wily campaigner like Abbas, who proved on the last tour and in county cricket that he knows the conditions really well and how to exploit some natural movement.

https://www.skysports.com/cricket/n...and-have-head-start-going-into-pakistan-tests

 

[aloo paratha]

Bit of a double edged sword. Theymay start the series better than us since they had better preparation but with 6 tests in quick succession, there are bound to be some tired minds and bodies by the end.

 

[Hasan123]

He is right. This is a massive advantage for England. Not playing competitive cricket for months and going straight into a test match is not easy.

 

[Mueez]

Compare Root’s statements to Misbah’s...

That’s the difference between us and them.

 

[MenInG]

Speaking on TV

"It's up there, it was a brilliant chase. Fantastic Test match all round, credit to Pakistan, I thought they played some brilliant cricket over the four days and I couldn't be more proud of the lads. I thought the way we approached today, in particular, was outstanding.

"That partnership between Woakesy and Jos was magnificent. I thought they were very clever about how they went about it, how they constructed it and I'm thrilled to bits to be stood here having won the game."

"(At 117-5) we knew it was going to take something special but after last summer, it is very hard to stop believing. We know that anything is possible. One thing you can never doubt in our dressing room is the character, is the way that we always keep believing. We never give up and that is a real strong trait of ours."

 

[MenInG]

Captain Joe Root says England's habit of pulling off unlikely victories gives them the belief they can win matches from almost any situation.

The home side chased 277 to win the first Test against Pakistan after being 117-5 on a very difficult pitch.

It follows remarkable wins in the World Cup final and the Headingley Ashes Test in the summer of 2019.

"Having those experiences in the bank gives you a huge amount of confidence that anything is possible," said Root.

England were carried to their three-wicket win by Chris Woakes, who ended 84 not out and shared a sixth-wicket partnership with Jos Buttler, whose contribution was 75.

The situation the hosts found themselves in on Saturday was typical of a match where they were in trouble throughout.

They gave up a first-innings deficit of 107 runs after wicketkeeper Buttler twice reprieved Shan Masood, who went on to make 156. In addition, captain Root made a number of tactical errors and England's top order slumped to 12-3.

"For three days we were behind Pakistan in this game," said Root.

"Obviously we don't want to start in that position and keep finding ourselves having to wrestle a way back into a match, but it's certainly great to have in the bank when things don't go your way initially."

England's fightback began on day three with some determined lower-order batting, followed by the bowlers tenaciously working through the Pakistan line-up in their second innings.

Still, even on day four, England were in huge trouble after losing three wickets for 20 runs on a pitch that had a period of devilish difficulty.

Root's edge was taken by a Naseem Shah delivery that bounced, Ben Stokes gloved a fizzing googly from Yasir Shah before Ollie Pope got an unplayable lifter from Shaheen Afridi.

However, Buttler and Woakes counter-attacked and, even though Buttler fell with 21 still required, man-of-the-match Woakes steered England home.

"It's a monumental win," Root told Test Match Special. "We managed to get across the line and that will give everyone a huge amount of confidence.

"Our biggest strength as a group is our character and never giving up. We always look at how we can find a way to get back into the game and today we did it brilliantly.

"We were up against it, but we found a way and that's a sign of a good team. We are very aware we're not the finished article but if we keep doing things, backing them up and learning from mistakes then we will get there eventually."

https://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/53710065

 

[James]

Extra match practice likely gave the England team that critically important additional 5% of performance and energy when it mattered in this Test.

 

[wrongun]

Considering Pakistan players largely haven't even played a real first class game at all for 6-9 months then England began at a considerable advantage.

Pakistan did pretty well to take it so deep before they flagged on the final day. Theoretically they should be better for the run, but logic & Pakistan don't always go hand in hand.

 

[MenInG]

Considering Pakistan players largely haven't even played a real first class game at all for 6-9 months then England began at a considerable advantage.

Pakistan did pretty well to take it so deep before they flagged on the final day. Theoretically they should be better for the run, but logic & Pakistan don't always go hand in hand.

Absolutely agree with this and one must commend them for taking the game to that point in 1st Test - just wished they had the sense to finish the job!

 

[Energy]

You learn something after reading interviews like these. Thanks for posting.

Ours our by-far the worst. There's no insight whatsoever. Not just English interviews, even the ones in Urdu have loose, run-of-the-mill responses.