England skipper Joe Root has come in support of his under-performing teammates and pointed out multiple factors behind it. He says continuity is a thing that is hard to maintain during this tough time of covid-19 and bio-bubble.
England’s Test squad has always been criticized for letting the guard down on several occasions. Earlier, England used to play some good cricket to win the Test series but had a tendency of losing the dead rubbers.
However, the latest trend with them suggests they drop the anchor without even reaching the finishing line. The lack of continuity is the key reason behind it. They are inconsistent with the performance and Joe Root feels it’s something that is happening due to the pandemic world and things that have come with it while he praises the work ethics of his teammates.
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“You see the guys put in the work time and time again. One thing you can never question about anyone in this team is their work ethic. I think everyone throws everything into their practice and does everything they can to make themselves better,” Root said during a virtual press conference.
“COVID-19 has had quite an effect on our consistency in backing up teams, whether that be workload through having to rotate players or through the conditions, it’s been a difficult thing to get continuity in that respect.”
Former England cricket Geoffrey Boycott criticized batsmen for showing a lack of patience and application while facing the Indian bowlers.
“In Test cricket, it’s a fine margin, it’s a fine balance. Of course, you need a strong technique to be able to trust your defence, but you also need to be able to apply pressure on occasions,” Root added, who believes rotating the strike would be key for under-performing players.
“It’s about getting off the strike, I think that’s a really important thing, to rotate the strike, get down the other end. Just rotate, we don’t need to necessarily go out and crush it to the boundary ropes once or twice an over, but it is important to get that balance between scoring, defending and managing certain passages of play,” he mentioned.
“So, it’s certainly something that we discussed as a team, how we can do that better. Ultimately, it’s about managing out on the field, not just doing it well in practice.”
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All-rounder Moeen Ali has been drafted into the squad for the Lord’s Test against India. He is likely to play his first Test on home soil since Ashes 2019. Root believes Ali has the match-winning ability.
“I’ve always been a huge fan of him. He’s a wonderful cricketer across the formats. He has the ability to go out there and win games with bat and ball. He’s proven in the past,” Root said.
“He plays best cricket when he’s enjoying it and he’s full of confidence. I’m quite happy to give him a huge amount of responsibility if he gets a chance to play because he responds extremely well to that. He is a leader within the dressing room, has a great personality, drags people with him so it’d be great to have him back again.”
The second Test between England and India will be played on August 12 at Lord’s.
