Ahead of the forthcoming Ashes series against Australia, England captain Joe Root is under tremendous pressure to get better. The batter is in need of a major improvement in his game, or else he runs the risk of suffering a crushing loss, according to cricket icon Nasser Hussain.
Joe Root’s Charisma
With back-to-back hundreds during the course of the two innings in the second Test match at Lord’s against Sri Lanka, England’s great batsman Joe Root made history and set a record for the most Test centuries in English history. With 33 hundreds at the end of his career in the longest format, Root outscored England’s greatest batsman, Alastair Cook.
Joe Root hit his 34th wicket in the second innings at Lord’s to take the lead in England’s Test century total, surpassing Alastair Cook. He also passed Graham Gooch (2,015) in terms of most runs at Lord’s, with 2,022 runs. The former skipper also made 200 catches in Test cricket.
Nasser Warns Joe Root Despite Record Breaking Outing
Nasser praised England’s batting performance and said it had prepared them well for the Australian challenge, but he also pointed out that Root’s game is lacking in the fielding department.
“Sri Lanka, like West Indies, do not play a lot of Test cricket, but as we move into the final Test of the summer this week, England have done enough against the pair to suggest they are positioning themselves nicely for the Australian challenge.”
“However, although Root’s batting was at its superlative best, for someone with such high standards, there is one thing he must improve on — his catching. He put down multiple chances here. Drop Steve Smith or Marnus Labuschagne and it could be Ashes gone,” Hussain added.
England At WTC
England’s victory over Sri Lanka in the second Test has given them 81 WTC points, raising their WTC point percentage to 45. According to the ICC, they are still in fourth place, after Australia, New Zealand, and India. However, as a result of their defeat, Sri Lanka’s point percentage dropped from 40 to 33.33%, placing the Asian team in seventh place, behind Bangladesh and South Africa.
On the fourth day itself, Atkinson’s heroics secured England’s victory. With the bat, he scored 118 and 14, and with the ball, he picked 2/40 and 5/62.
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