Root rallying cry Sky’s the limit for this young England team
Joe Root believes beating South Africa 3-1 would be his best achievement as England captain and would signal the “sky’s the limit” for his young side.
England will this morning decide whether to pair Jofra Archer and Mark Wood to form arguably their quickest ever bowling partnership as they look to hit South Africa with extreme pace in the final Test of the series.
Archer bowled in the nets without his arm brace yesterday, showing no signs of the elbow injury that kept him out of the past two Tests. He seems certain to be recalled.
Wood bowled a few gentle overs in a shortened spell before having a long chat with the team doctor. He has a tightness in his groin and is sore from the last Test, in Port Elizabeth. He wants to play, and Root wants to pick him, but England are wary of risking one of their prize assets.
England were leaning towards selecting five seamers after inspecting the pitch, which would mean Chris Woakes coming in for Wood, while Dom Bess is likely to lose his place, despite his fivewicket haul in Port Elizabeth, for tactical reasons.
Root said: “Jofra bowled with good pace and looked in a really good place. That’s a really promising sign for us as a team. It would be nice to see how they go together. It would be a relentless barrage of pace, which is exciting, especially on the surface you typically get here at the Wanderers.”
South Africa have lost their best bowler, Kagiso Rabada, to a onematch suspension and have been forced to rejig their batting order, with Zubayr Hamza dropped after a torrid time against Wood last week. He has been replaced by Temba Bavuma. Captain Faf du Plessis’s position is under threat after he was sacked as one-day captain and it was hinted there would be an announcement about his long-term future after this Test.
Root started the series as the captain under scrutiny but the mood has changed. The injection of new, young players has lifted the gloom.
When asked if winning 3-1 would be his biggest achievement, he said: “I think it probably would be, yes, because of the different things we’ve had to manage. We’ve had injuries and a lot of illness to deal with. And we have adapted to very different conditions and for a very young group of players to manage that has been very pleasing and a sign we’re doing the right things.
“If we can harness that and keep taking that forward and look to improve as a group, then I do think the sky’s the limit for this team.”