Joe Root is back at No.1 in the world rankings after his 37th Test century, but admits he and his team-mates are losing the battle when it comes to restricting Ben Stokes’ workload after the thrilling win over India
Joe Root conceded defeat in the battle to restrict Ben Stokes’ workload after the England captain’s immense shift in the Lord’s thriller with India.
Mindful of major knee and hamstring injuries which had restricted Stokes’ capacity as a bowler in the last three years, backroom staff were fearful when he flogged himself through spells of nine and 11 overs to help England creep home by just 22 runs. But Root, whose 37th Test century sent him back to No.1 in the world rankings, admitted trying to take the ball off their Bazball ringmaster was like trying to retrieve your lunch from a crocodile’s jaws.
Stokes was nominated as man of the match in the third Test for his 77 runs, six wickets and run-out of India’s loose cannon Rishabh Pant. But it was his 44 overs of footslog with the ball that stunned his team-mates, and Root laughed “So much for stopping his long spells!
“Well, I tried for five years, but that’s his call now. It’s just how he’s built, I guess. He’s desperate to be the man and to make things happen. I was panicking that he wasn’t going to make it through the game after a couple of bad injuries, but he clearly trusts his body now.
“It’s a great sign for us moving forward that he’s back to his best. He’s got sharp, kept one going, everything he could possibly want – and he kept his pace up.
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“He looked threatening throughout because he’s got that awkward angle (of delivery) where he’s past the perpendicular, so even when it’s not doing anything he draws people into play.
“And clearly he’s got that mentality and desire to win games. We’re lucky to have him as a leader.
“You can try to stop him (bowling) but it doesn’t make any difference. I mentioned it, but he doesn’t always listen to me – he didn’t listen to me when I was captain. He knows what he’s doing and he’s got a good handle on where he’s at physically.”
Root, 34, also paid tribute to off-spinner Shoaib Bashir for the ‘Pink Panther’ delivery which dislodged last man Mohammed Sir’s leg bail to clinch victory.
Bashir will miss the rest of the series after an operation to repair the fractured little finger on his non-bowling hand, but bravely he came out to bat in England’s second innings before a match-winning cameo at the death.
The ball which left Siraj paralysed in despair spun wickedly, as if in reverse gear, and Root smiled: “It looked like that ball was on remote control, like it was from the Pink Panther or something. It was amazing how it all turned out, like it was written in the stars for him.”
“For him to be big enough and brave enough to do that shows what it means to everyone. That’s the biggest honour within our group – to see such a young lad do that for the rest of the crew was really special.
“It was a physical slog but we’ve got a week to recover, so it was always going to be a case of throwing everything at them for as long as we possibly could on that last day.
“India were never going to back down – they are a very good team, a passionate team, so it was going to take a big effort from us.”