England’s veteran batter Joe Root said that he had little qualms with their ‘ugly’ way of winning the first Test against Sri Lanka at the Old Trafford in Manchester as well. He also stated that the wicket was hardly comfortable as well. With Sri Lanka’s stunning effort setting England 205 for victory, the hosts eventually registered a five-wicket win as well. Root held the innings together with a patient 62* off 128 deliveries and Harry Brook (32) and Jamie Smith (39) also helped.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, the former skipper said, “Hopefully it’s a one-off thing but sometimes it’s good to win ugly. And we’ve still got a day [out of five] to go, so we’re still sticking by the principles that we want to live by, and we’re evolving as a team. The outfield is as long as I’ve seen for a long time in England, and the wicket itself obviously lost a lot of pace throughout. So it was quite hard to time the ball, and I didn’t really feel comfortable trying to muscle it,” Joe Root said.

After England took a 123-run lead, Sri Lanka showed a good batting performance, spearheaded by Kamindu Mendis’ 113. However, Mendis’ wicket saw Sri Lanka fold fairly quickly. In the same interview, Joe Root applauded Jamie Smith, who earned the Player of the Match award for his 150 runs across both innings in Manchester, including 111 in the first dig as well.

“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,” Joe Root concluded.