Joe Root reckons England can take their new style of Test cricket to Pakistan and win because they are not just ‘one trick ponies’.
Root has been swept along with the freewheeling approach of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, admitting he has never had more fun as a professional cricketer. And when Jonny Bairstow and Stokes were busy setting Trent Bridge alight with their exhilarating batting, Root had to put down the crossword because he couldn’t take his eyes off it.
England have scored their runs at 4.44 per over across their seven Tests making it their fastest scoring summer of all time - beating 2005’s thrillseekers. But in amongst the high octane, reverse-sweeping boundary collectors, there was another side to the team displayed at Old Trafford when Stokes and Ben Foakes scored calm, skilful and effective hundreds to show they had other gears, and that is what gives Root the confidence to suggest the winter could be just as successful.
“It has been absolute class, so much fun and it’s nice to know what we’re capable of,” said Root. “We’re definitely not the finished article but to see the strides we’ve made in such a short space of time has been really a breath of fresh air.
“It makes the winter and beyond look very exciting for this team. I’m buzzing about it, to be honest and looking forward to that next series already. We’ll certainly try to do the same in Pakistan. Give it a go. Look at the way we played at Old Trafford and you can see there’s more to it.
“The most important thing is that when we get the opportunities to force the issue and get ahead of the game then we take it. At Old Trafford, you saw a different side to this team, a side that can absorb pressure, can play in a slightly different fashion.
“We’re not just a one-trick pony. There’s always going to be periods in Test cricket that you have to manage well and smartly. And we’ve got it right more often than not and that’s why we’re sat here with six wins out of seven.”
It is a measure of Root’s quality as a batter and a man that he has not only delivered plenty of runs, but he has totally bought into the new direction from Stokes and taken his own game forward. He actually didn’t have a great series against South Africa, but three hundreds in the first four matches showed his class and the runs came at a blistering pace too.
“Thanks to Stokesy, there’s an element of real belief and excitement in everything we do at the minute,” he added. “Long may that continue because I don’t think any of the guys who were involved in the last couple of years will easily forget how difficult that was.
“To come out and play the way we have this summer has been awesome. I’m really excited and hopefully off the back of it we can encourage and get people really excited about Test cricket. There’s been a lot of talk about the Hundred as a great opportunity to get people into the game. Well, there’s no reason why Test cricket can’t do that too.”
