I had to channel my inner Nasser Hussain: Joe Root

Joe Root said (joked) he had to channelise his "inner (Nasser) Hussain" to help England hunt down a tricky target on day four of the first Test against Sri Lanka at Emirates Old Trafford on August 24 (Saturday). The right-handed batter crafted 62* off 128 deliveries and propelled England to a five-wicket win, giving them 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Thanks to Kamindu Mendis’ 113 and Dinesh Chandimal’s 79, Sri Lanka managed to post a fighting target of 205. England lost their first three wickets for 70 runs but that’s when Root added 49 with Harry Brook and 64 with Jamie Smith to get England over the line.  

Also read - Kamindu Mendis, Sri Lanka's new X-factor down the order

Talking to Hussain and Ian Ward on Sky Sports about his knock, Root said: “I had to channel my inner Hussain, I reckon. I'm still ahead of your career strike rate, but it was a tricky one today. It was a long, slow, hard grind but we got there in the end. The wicket lost a lot of pace throughout and I didn't really feel comfortable trying to muscle it, so I just had to accumulate in a slightly different way.

“The lads are all calling me Geoff (Boycott) upstairs. Hopefully it is a one-off thing. Sometimes you have to win ugly, and we have still won with a day to go, so we are still sticking by the principles we want to live by and we are evolving as a team. I actually feel like, playing Sri Lanka, these are as close to Sri Lankan conditions as you are going to get in England, so for us to manage that well and close it out is a really good step forward for us."

Speaking about his partnerships with Brook and Smith, where he mostly played the second fiddle, Root said: "That's the beauty of partnerships. Someone like Brookie is always going to score freely, he hits the ball nice and firmly, and Jamie as well. He's obviously in great form, and a natural striker, so it's just nice to feed off each other.”

The 33-year-old also heaped praises on Ollie Pope who was captaining England for the first time. Pope could only score 12 runs in the match but Root said he was “good at changing things up” and was trying to take the game forward. "Obviously I offered a few bits here and there, but I didn't need to offer much. He was very much in control of what was going on.

"It wasn't straightforward. There were a few different things that you'd have to contend with. It wasn't your typically English kind of Test match, so hats off to him. He was very good at changing things up, trying different things, and constantly trying to move the game in the right direction. So again, it's another step in the way that we want to go as a team. And for us to do it slightly differently this week and still find a way to win is a really good sign for us."

Root also spoke about Smith who was named Player of the Match. The young wicketkeeper-batter slammed 111 in the first innings to give England a crucial lead and then scored 39 off 48 in the second essay to take pressure off Root. 

"He's a phenomenal player. His glovework's been exceptional, but his batting, I think you've seen everything you want from a No.7. He can bat with the tail and take the game on aggressively. And then he's managed periods of play throughout this innings, and the first innings in particular, where he's been able to soak things up, knock it around, and then put his foot down when he needs to.

"He is very laid back, and it's lovely to see guys coming in and it not really fazing them, or at least on the surface. I'd like to say it's slightly part of the environment that we've created, which allows guys to come in and do that. But also a lot of credit has to go for him, for the way that he approaches the game, the way he looks at it, and how mature he is."

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