‘ROOT IS THE BEST SINCE LARA’
High praise as captain saves day
JOE ROOT’S second masterclass in a week on how to play spin left his England team-mates in ‘awe’ after he made 186 in the second Test in Galle.
The captain was on the receiving end of plenty of plaudits for his performances, not least from former Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene, who compared him to Brian Lara as the best overseas player of spin he had seen on the island.
“We’re all in awe of what Joe has just achieved,” said vice-captain Jos Buttler. “He
JOE ROOT had bacon, bananas and a little help from an old friend to thank for achieving his feat of extraordinary endurance and skill.
The England captain narrowly missed out on a double double hundred when he was run out for 186 at the end of day three of the second Test, to follow his 228 in the first.
Both were epic performances, but this eight-and-a-halfhour vigil in energysapping 34-degree heat pushed his body to the limit.
By the time he was out, Root had spent all but 36.4 overs of the series on the field, illustrating both his batting ability and fitness.
As he moved to fourth in the England Test runs charts, leaving Kevin Pietersen and David Gower behind, he knocked back seven bananas and seven energy gels from lunch to fuel his progress.
Far from scoffing a ‘knock-off Nandos, a Yorkie bar and a Red Bull’, as Ben Stokes famously did before his brilliant Headingley innings in 2019, Root had a steak with vegetables the night before then a breakfast of bacon and eggs with toast.
When the threat of cramp arose, he had former team-mate Matt Prior and his One Pro Nutrition energy gels to thank for giving him an extra kick.
Prior, who shared a stand of 103 with Root in the Yorkshireman’s first Test innings, said: “Joe is a wonderful cricketer and he has shown his ruthlessness and hard edge across these two innings.
“He has stood up as captain and led from the front. He has shown the way, just as Alastair Cook did back in 2012 in India.
“I know from experience that Sri Lanka is the greatest physical challenge that you face and I was found wanting out there a couple of times with dehydration and cramp. I tried all sorts of strategies, but very few worked.
“It is that experience that drove me to develop the products we have.”
It took something special to bring an end to Root’s masterpiece when Oshada
Fernando’s direct throw from short leg left him stranded.
Lasith Embuldeniya took care of seven English batsmen.
●For more information on One Pro Nutrition energy gels and clean performance supplements visit www.onepronutrition.com