England’s Test skipper Joe Root has insisted a dominant win against Pakistan must not be allowed to “paper over the cracks” when it comes to England’s current form in Test cricket. He saw his team concluding the two-match Test series all square at 1-1 after thumping innings and 55-run win in just three days at his Headingley home ground on Sunday.

But the win in the second Test, England avoided a third successive series loss after reverses in Australia and New Zealand, but they on a severe series loss after Pakistan outplayed their hosts in all aspects of the game to win the first Test at Lord’s by nine wickets.

Talking to the reporters about the same, Root said, “It’s very important we don’t paper over the cracks and think this is going to be us (sorted out) forever. We have to make sure we don’t find ourselves in those positions like last week (at Lord’s). “It could potentially be the start of something…It’s now about replicating it more consistently,” added Root, whose side would have dropped to a lowly seventh in the Test standings had they been beaten at Headingley. I’m thrilled to bits. (But) we know we’re not the finished article — this is the first step towards our goal.”

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From last 8 Tests, England had lost last 6 Test matches and the other to were drawn. That winless streak led to questions over whether head coach Trevor Bayliss should remain in charge of the Test side, for all he has guided the white-ball team to the top of the one-day international rankings.

But Root said the coach was an “easy target” for criticism, while Bayliss told BBC Radio’s Test Match Special: “To be honest, I don’t listen to what’s said in the media much at all. Everyone is allowed their opinion and whatever it takes to get yourself motivated is fine. But I couldn’t care less.”

Despite the fact that the English top order made a fifty and Root, arguably England’s best batsman has now gone 20 innings without a Test hundred. In the second Test, Jos Buttler has been dropped on four. Talking about him, the captain said, “I hope he gains so much confidence from these two weeks, and really uses it to move forward as a Test player. We all know how talented he is, what he’s capable of –- so I hope this is something we’ll see a lot more frequently from him. That’s why he’s on the side, to try to take games away from the opposition as he did.”