NOW LET’S SEE THE REAL ENGLAND
Root needs to deliver after rallying cry
If Joe Root leads england half as well as he spoke yesterday in one of their most important tests in years, then Pakistan have no chance at Headingley.
there was passion, anger, real determination and even a bit of humour from an england captain who came out fighting by vowing to put right the wrongs of Lord’s in a second test that Root — and coach trevor Bayliss — cannot afford to lose.
Rarely does Root offer much in his public utterings and even yesterday as he faced the television cameras, immediately after practice and still wearing his pads as if to shield himself from the inquisition, he played the straightest of bats.
But when the cameras were switched off and the captain sat down with newspaper reporters in a Headingley press room that has seen its fair share of drama in recent years, there was much more of the real Joe Root.
there was a strong defence of Bayliss, whose test stewardship would be in real jeopardy with defeat here, an acceptance that the Lord’s horror show was not good enough and a stirring call to arms for his team.
And there was even a lighthearted explanation for what looked like an animated conversation Root had with Stuart Broad on the outfield of a Leeds ground resembling a building site because of work on the new rugby stand.
‘He’s a bit disappointed at the minute,’ said a sternfaced Root, giving the impression he really might have listened to Michael Vaughan and was dropping Broad. ‘frank Lampard has gone to Derby instead of forest. He thought he might be the new Brian Clough...’
He’s here all week. ‘No, me and Stuart were just talking about things in terms of how we want the game to go,’ said Root, who confirmed Broad would carry on taking the new ball with Jimmy Anderson.
‘More than anything, we were being honest and talking about where we need to get better as a group.’
More serious was Root’s rallying call to his troops and insistence that england are much, much better than we have seen in a shocking run of seven defeats in 10 tests.
‘I look at this group and how we performed at Lord’s and it’s nowhere near what we’ve done in the past and what we’re capable of moving forward,’ he said. ‘ of course it was frustrating. I made it very clear in the buildup to this series how we’re going to approach things and that is something that will work in time but not happen overnight.
‘We have to be realistic about where we’re at. We’re low on confidence after a difficult winter but individually the players have to get in a state of mind where they give themselves their best chance of showing how good they are.
‘If, after last week, they prove we have strong characters who can come out and perform well here, that will tell us a lot about this team. that’s what I want from the guys. to stand up and be counted and show how important it is to play for england.
‘Imagine playing really well here and showing everyone just how good we really are. that’s the carrot dangled in front of the boys.’
It is indicative of where england stand that they face confusion over the make-up and balance of the side following another injury to Ben Stokes that last night saw him having a scan on his injured hamstring. there were glimpses of the real Stokes at Lord’s, particularly with the ball, so his absence now would be a huge blow for england, but the best Stokes can hope for, it seems, is to play as a specialist batsman. So england face a difficult decision this morning and a debut for left-arm seamer Sam Curran should not be ruled out. there is also more chance of Chris Woakes playing ahead of Mark Wood should england go in with four bowlers.
But at least there was not the embarrassment of a player suffering injury during england’s pre-practice game of football.
Jonny Bairstow left the game to have strapping on his left knee before returning for his keeping drills, but Root confirmed he was fully fit, saying with a smile: ‘Jonny just likes the attention.’
Uncertainty is the last thing Root needs ahead of such a big game but he is adamant that if a door closes for Stokes it will open for someone else.
Yesterday’s gathering ended with Root being asked whether the bottom line is that, actually, with only two batsmen averaging more than 40 and two bowlers fewer than 30, england are simply not very good?
that’s when there was an encouraging flash of anger.
‘Yes, we have underperformed,’ said Root. ‘But look at the players we’ve got. Are you telling me Ben Stokes isn’t a world- class player who can win a game with bat or ball? Look at Dawid Malan and the century he got in Perth against a really good attack. It was unbelievable.
‘ there is plenty of evidence across the board that we have the players. It’s just doing it consistently well over a long period of time. I have full confidence in that group. We have everything we need.’
Now all england have to do is go out and prove it.