England were forced to opt for the old, tough game rather than taking the ball to all parts of the field to reign supreme in the Test at Old Trafford in Manchester on Saturday, August 24.
Forced to play against their preferred nature of play, England had to rely on their most experienced batsman. Joe Root to lead them over the finish line and the 33-year-old did not disappoint.
Root revealed that it had become extremely difficult to score on the abrasive Old Trafford wicket on the fourth day and hence the hosts had to change their method of play to get over the line.
“It was a tricky day,” Root said after the match. “It was a long, slow process, but we got it done in the end. The outfield is the longest I’ve seen in a long time in England, and the wicket itself obviously lost a lot of pace throughout. So it was quite difficult to time the ball, and I didn’t really feel comfortable trying to force it. I felt like that would bring the catchers in front of the bat into the game, so I just had to build up in a slightly different way.”
England, chasing victory on 205, were in a tight spot after losing three wickets with just 70 runs on the board. Sri Lanka’s bowlers had found their groove and Prabath Jayasuriya, in particular, was looking to make the most of the wear and tear on the surface.
But Root held a firm end and stitched a 49-run stand with vice-captain Harry Brook for the fourth wicket and then added 64 runs for the fifth wicket alongside young wicketkeeper-batsman Jamie Smith to take England to the brink of an “ugly victory”.
The former captain showed great maturity by batting alongside two of the most attacking players in the current England team, having chosen to play second fiddle.
“That’s the beauty of partnerships,” he said. “Someone like Brookie is always going to score easily, he hits the ball well and firmly, and Jamie too. He’s obviously in great form and a natural striker, so it’s good that we feed off each other.”
“Hopefully it’s a one-off but sometimes it’s nice to win ugly. And we’ve still got one day (of five) to go so we’re sticking to the principles that we want to live by and we’re evolving as a team,” Root said of England’s cautious approach on day four.
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