Joe Root has called on his players to “celebrate in a sensible, grown‑up way” after they secured a first multi‑game series win since 2024 by beating Pakistan at Lord’s to take a 2-0 lead with one to play.
England’s recent opportunities for celebration have often resulted in scandal and Root intends to end the scandals rather than the celebrations. “It’s important we’re not talking about [off-field matters], absolutely,” he said. “But it’s hard to win Test matches, it’s hard to win Test series, so enjoy it and celebrate it, but in a sensible, grown-up way. It’s been a really good start to, I don’t know what you want to call it, this new team.”
It has been a difficult summer so far for Root: in nine innings he is averaging 29.44 – compared with a career average of 50.38 – and has been dismissed lbw on seven occasions, including in both innings of this game. “I’ve always been quite good at understanding and eventually problem-solving,” he said.
“I’ll continue to keep working hard. I might have been lbw a few times, but lots of those have been umpire’s call – if they go the other way it might not be as much of a talking point. We’ve also seen the ball move more than it ever has. So there has to be a sense of calm and realism around things. I know I’m a good player, and I’d like to think there’s a big score around the corner.”
After another difficult match for the batters at Lord’s, Root deflected criticism of a pitch he described as “naughty” by spinning attention instead to the balls, which he says have been sapping the players’ spirits – and breaking their bats. “I think they’ve been very different this year,” he said. “I think there’s a different lacquer to them. I don’t know, I’ve not got evidence on that – you probably need to ask Dukes – but I think there’s lacquer on the seam. As a batter, when you practise, they’re cracking your bats more frequently. And they seem a lot firmer.
“I think they’re affecting the wickets as well. I think they’re denting more. If they dent the wicket it’s going to seam off the dents as well, it’s going to move more. It’s been challenging. Sometimes you do come across summers where it’s the perfect storm: you get overcast conditions, you get a bit of rain to contend with, the balls are slightly different. But that’s part of the challenge of Test cricket, being able to adapt.”
Pakistan’s Mohammad Abbas conceded that “everybody’s not happy with this performance” but insisted the team was improving. “We were much better in this match [than in the first Test]. You can see that as time passes we are getting used to the conditions and everything is getting better,” he said.
“As a team, we aren’t doing well. But we are working on that. The next match will be in Birmingham, and hopefully victory will come.”
