Joe Root-led England were completely outplayed in the second Test. (Source: Reuters)
The England cricket team has drawn a lot of criticism for being inconsistent in the ongoing Test series against South Africa. Several questions were raised regarding their attitude after the defeat in the second Test. However, England came back strongly in the third Test to secure a thrilling win by 340 runs. This led Root to instil renewed confidence in his side and claim that England is trying to find out the most successful formula moving forward.
Recalling the performance in the second Test, he said, “We weren’t good enough at Trent Bridge and I think it was important that we sat down after that and found a way to come back from that,” said Joe Root ahead of the fourth Test at Old Trafford on Thursday (August 3). “The response the guys came up with was excellent.”
On the fourth Test, Root said, “It’s obviously a new challenge this week, and a slightly different frame of mind going into it,” and added, “There is no reason why we can’t do that [play well] again.”
Commenting on his captaincy reign Root said, “Early on in my captaincy, I am trying to find out what I want and what’s going to be the most successful formula moving forward. I suppose it’s very difficult to use Test matches as experiments but it’s important to find out what works early on so you have the opportunity to be more consistent and more successful.”
Stressing on the need for a balanced side, Root added, “You are trying to get the balance right between that consistency and making sure that we are playing a side that suits the surface that we come up against. Moving forward that is something we will have to get nailed down before we go to Australia. Hopefully, we will stumble across it very quickly.”
