“It had become a very unhealthy relationship, to be honest — the captaincy and me,” mentioned Joe Root after his century helped England to a five-wicket win over New Zealand within the first Test
“It had become a very unhealthy relationship, to be honest — the captaincy and me,” mentioned Joe Root after his century helped England to a five-wicket win over New Zealand within the first Test
A relieved Joe Root mentioned the England Test captaincy had taken a toll on his private well being after he guided his aspect to a memorable five-wicket win in opposition to New Zealand on Sunday in his first match since relinquishing the position.
The 31-year-old stepped down as skipper within the aftermath of England’s 1-0 sequence defeat within the Caribbean in March, which got here on the heels of a disastrous 4-0 loss in opposition to Australia within the Ashes.
“It had become a very unhealthy relationship, to be honest — the captaincy and me,” Root instructed reporters after his unbeaten 115 helped England chase down 277 at Lord’s and take a 1-0 lead within the three-match sequence.
“It started to really take a bad toll on my own personal health. I couldn’t leave it at the ground any more; it was coming home. It wasn’t fair on my family, on people close to me, and it wasn’t fair on myself either.”
Helping Stokes
Root, who was been changed by Ben Stokes, led England in 64 Tests, successful 27 and shedding 26 throughout his five-year tenure.
The Yorkshire batsman mentioned he was eager to assist Stokes reach his new position and make England a Test pressure once more.
“I had thrown everything at it and I was determined to help turn this team around but I realised over that time at home that it would have to be in a different way,” added Root, who additionally reached 10,000 Test runs on Sunday.
Second Englishman to 10k
Root is simply the second England participant after former crew mate Alastair Cook to succeed in the milestone. Cook, who’s fifth in Test cricket’s checklist of all-time main run scorers with 12,472 runs, mentioned Root would go on to surpass him.
“He is a pleasure to watch, the most complete England batsman I have seen,” Cook instructed the BBC on Monday.
“The person who could play the most incredible innings was Kevin Pietersen, but for the most complete batsman in all three forms, it’s Root. His consistency is incredible. Barring injury, he’ll go miles past my record.”
The second Test will get underway at Trent Bridge on Friday.
Source: www.thehindu.com
