This is not the time to panic says Root

JOE ROOT defended his insipid batsmen following a first home series defeat for seven years, but admitted: “We’ve been schooled.”

New Zealand won their first series in England since 1999 with an eight-wicket victory at Edgbaston and Root, right, said: “It’s not been our best week – we’ve massively under-performed. New Zealand have schooled us on the art of Test match batting and you’ve got to learn from your opposition from time to time.

“We are a better side than this. It is not a time to panic. We need to stay calm and stay relaxed and trust what we’ve been doing for a long time now and that is going to be really important.

“There is learning to be done but, if you marry that with the talent and ability they’ve got, then we could see some big scores at the end of the year.”