Past failures drive Root to double ton

JOE Root believes previous frustrations helped motivate him to make a career-best Test score of 254 and put England in a commanding position against Pakistan. Root, who began the day on 141, was eventually caught by Mohammad Hafeez off the bowling of Wahab Riaz before his side declared on 589 for eight in the first innings of the second Test at Old Trafford. Chris Woakes then took three wickets as Pakistan made 57 for four in reply by stumps on the second day.

“You do a lot of talking in dressing rooms and you want to set examples and things like that,” Root said. “It was just really nice to go on and make a big one. Obviously recently it’s not quite worked out, so finally to do it is a really good feeling.

“It’s what you strive for, scores like this and getting your team in a position we’re in now, that’s why you play the game, to make big contributions and to make big scores. All those lower scores, they give you a lot of drive to, when you get in and you do get to a hundred, to make it really count.

“You’re always hard on yourself; you’re always looking for improvement. But I think recently I’ve thrown it away on a couple of occasions and just wanted to make sure I hammered that home throughout the whole innings.”

Root’s 10-and-a-quarter-hour 254 was just two runs short of England’s highest individual score at this venue, with its 132-year Test history. Only Ken Barrington, 52 years ago against Australia, has made more for the hosts in Manchester – and Root’s 406-ball tour de force spanned six sessions, featuring in three century stands.

Root and captain Alastair Cook did much of the hardest work with their hundreds on day one, and the Yokshireman’s reward on the resumption was an obvious opportunity to scale the list of England’s highest individual scores. He was less fluent than on day one but kept his concentration to pass 200 when he reverse-swept the world’s number one bowler Yasir Shah for the 22nd of his 27 fours. Root and nightwatchman Woakes put on 103 for the fifth wicket.

Woakes (58) was England’s driving force, in the first hour especially. He did his job the previous evening, with just two to his name from 16 balls, but soon took the lead role. There were early off-side boundaries off either foot against Rahat Ali, and then a memorable upper-cut six off Mohammad Amir.

Root took the majority of Amir’s spell as he set himself again for an extended stay. By the time he counted his first four of the day – an edge which might have done for him on 155 off Yasir had Younus Khan been more alert at slip – Woakes had hit seven boundaries to go with his six. He added another four in his 88-ball half-century, his second in five innings.

There had been a painful early blow to Woakes’ right forearm when Rahat found a little variable bounce from the pavilion end, but he was otherwise untroubled until he poked a caught-and-bowled back at Yasir. At that point, the leg-spinner had followed his 10 for 141 at Lord’s with one for 139 here – and he would chalk up a less gratifying double-hundred of his own before England were done. Ben Stokes had some fortune, depositing a mis-sweep at Yasir safely on 25, but less perhaps when Wahab (three for 106) had him caughtbehind after overturning the initial decision via an extensive DRS procedure. Jonny Bairstow (58) had an escape on nine when Sarfraz Ahmed could not hold another chance off Yasir.

Root’s dismissal came in a 27-minute session containing 56 runs after tea, which ended when Bairstow was caught at mid-off.

The new ball then swung for James Anderson and Stuart Broad, but without end product. Moeen Ali opened his account by being no-balled for an unintentional high full toss in his first over - but the double-change, Woakes on too, worked immediately for the seamer at the pavilion end.

He did have to wait until the last ball of his first over before one left Hafeez marginally to find the edge low to second slip - Root, no less.

Woakes took his team-mates out of the equation with a one-handed caught-and-bowled from Azhar Ali’s faulty chip back at him. So too were England, after Stokes had an out-of-sorts Younus caught down the leg-side and then Woakes himself found a short ball too good for nightwatchman in Rahat.