As good leaders must Joe Root has practised what he preached. Throughout this tour Root has promised a more aggressive approach on the turning tracks of Sri Lanka and when the going became tougher his players did not desert those ambitious plans. “There might have been a temptation to go into our shell after we had a deficit after the first innings,” he said. “Yet it was the inexperienced men at the top of the order [Rory Burns and Keaton Jennings] who set the benchmark. That was very pleasing.”
Root soon followed them to the crease and he has seldom batted with such brio. “As captain I had to make a statement and play in that manner.” Otherwise his promises – and instructions – would seem hollow. “Anyway,” he added, “I think that style of play suits our players.”
Root’s feet twinkled up and down the track and from the very start he was also prepared to go down on one knee and sweep the spinners. It was a joy to watch and, it seems, fun to do. “I enjoyed myself out there,” he said. “There were a few filthy hacks. But I had different strategies to different bowlers. You have to try to enjoy the occasion rather than feel the pressure and I think we all did that.”
All the batsmen swept though this did not stem from some kind of team edict. “Individually we all have to play to our strengths. Sometimes on surfaces like that the sweep is almost safer than the forward defensive. At times you are more secure doing that. Generally we got the balance right. And we have been practising those shots and trying to expand our games. This gives the team a better opportunity to score on these surfaces. We went along at four or five an over even when losing wickets in clusters, which happened a couple of times.”
Root acknowledged that it was strange that so many runs had been scored in this Test. “Maybe the spinners can get too excitable when it’s turning so much; maybe we over-attacked [in the field] and were not patient enough. That may be a lesson for tomorrow [Saturday] and I like to think that we can create 10 chances out there.”
As for that century, the most sparkling and creative he has produced in Test cricket, Root said it was “special”, before adding: “Well, it will be if we win this game.”
