Veteran England batter Joe Root said that it was a surreal feeling to be hugged by his father at Lord’s as he was on the way to the dressing room on Day 3 of the second Test against Sri Lanka as well. The veteran also sees every opportunity as ones to win games for England as well. With him crossing the England record of 33 Test centuries, he and his father, Matt, shared a hug as Matt expressed a lot of pride as well. Joe Root is also now not too far behind Sir Alastair Cook from becoming England’s leading run-scorer in the longer format as well.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the day’s play, Root said, “It was a pretty cool feeling. … I’m very proud and nice to share a moment with my dad walking off the field. That was really quite special. They are all things in a few years’ time I might be able to look back and enjoy. At the minute, I still have a lot of cricket to play.”It is always a new opportunity to get your team into a position to win the game. As a group, to be smart and get them to consistently five or six an over made us get to that position earlier.”

Meanwhile, former England captain Nasser Hussain said that Joe Root surprises him by how he makes it look so easy to score in Tests as well.

Hussain said, “I’ve run out of words for that young man, to be honest. He’s just an incredible person, an incredible player. He’s breaking all records. The way he gets his runs, he is just absolutely phenomenal. It’s not just about breaking records, it’s about entertaining crowds and batting with real poise and grace, and that’s what he’s done throughout his career.”We know how difficult it is to get Test-match runs, but this lad makes it look so easy. It’s not that easy – but he makes it look so easy.”