Sunderland Echo

Root praises the strength of England squad after series win

-

from everyone. It's very much been a squad effort as well and we've had some wonderful support too throughout the whole trip.

"It's very exciting. There's a number of guys that have performed that played in this game, but not just that. Guys like Jofra (Archer) at the start of the series with a fivefor, Dom Bess as well making a big contributi­on.

"It's been a real squad effort from a number of guys that are very much at the start of their internatio­nal careers and that's a very promising sign when you put that against some very experience­d players."

Root was delighted to see players step up and take their chance when given the opportunit­y with the likes of Rory Burns and James Anderson ruled out through injury early in the series. Zak Crawley took advantage of the opportunit­y afforded to him by Burns' ankle injury with a maiden Test half-century that laid the foundation­s for England's first-innings 400 at the Wanderers.

Wood made an eye-catching return to Test cricket with 12 wickets in two Tests to help fill the gap left by Anderson's rib problem.

Root added: "When that happens it provides guys with opportunit­ies for them to take and that's exactly what's happened on this trip.

"That's really pleasing and I think the sky's the limit for this group. I do think we're very much at the start of something and we've got to keep looking to learn, keep looking to get better and not think we're somewhere we're not. It's been a fantastic tour for our developmen­t as a Test team and we hope that can continue moving forward this winter."

 ??  ?? England’s Stuart Broad celebrates the wicket of Dwaine Pretorius of the Proteas with his team mates.
England’s Stuart Broad celebrates the wicket of Dwaine Pretorius of the Proteas with his team mates.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom