Joe Root has challenged his England team to carve out their own legacy in the game, after his side secured a series victory against Pakistan at Lord’s.
The England captain described the victory as a “wonderful start” to his second spell in charge, with the result marking the side’s first multi-match Test series win since they beat New Zealand 2-1 away from home in December 2024.
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Much of the pre-match conversation had centred on England’s recent off-field issues, after fast bowler Brydon Carse was dropped for the second Test against Pakistan following an incident outside a Derby nightclub last week.
In trying batting conditions at Lord’s, England beat Pakistan by 194 runs, after setting the visitors a huge target of 389 to win, with Dan Lawrence bringing up a second-innings half-century, while Emilio Gay and Harry Brook both battled to scores of 31 and 34, respectively.
England’s four-pronged pace attack excelled on an unpredictable Lord’s pitch, with Ollie Robinson, the pick of the bowlers and the Player of the Match, taking a whopping eight wickets across both of Pakistan’s innings, while Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue also taking five wickets each.
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While praising his players, Root looked to the future and urged his team to keep showcasing their skill in different conditions around the world.
“This is a group of players that’s going to be around this team for a long period of time and has a real opportunity to influence and shape it, both on and off the field,” Root said.
“The two performances we’ve put forward have been a really good step in the right direction.
“We now have the chance to go and do that again at Edgbaston in whatever conditions we find ourselves in and then we’ll move forward again to the next challenge when we go to South Africa.
“The more we can play together and the more we understand how we’re going to operate in different conditions, the more we’ll grow and the better we’ll be for it. That’s both for me as a captain and for them, learning and developing as Test players.
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“The challenge will be a new set of conditions to handle. Can we be good enough or skilful enough to find the answers again?”
While Robinson exploited the turning Lord’s pitch to extract plenty of lateral movement, he was complemented by the ferocious pace of Gus Atkinson, Tongue and Archer, the latter reaching an incredible 94mph in the first innings.
“The most exciting thing about these guys is they have the opportunity to create their own legacy,” Root said.
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“They’re all of an age where they can play together for a long period of time, and I think they’ve all got skill sets that travel around the world in different conditions.
“It’s all there for them if they keep working hard and performing in the manner that they are now, then there’s no reason why they can’t write their own little chapter in English fast bowling history.”
‘Conditions were challenging’
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Reflecting on the performances of his batters, Root hailed Lawrence and Gay for their second-innings scores in tough batting conditions.
He added Gay, who was pinned lbw by a low bouncing ball from Mohammad Abbas, was “very unlucky” to be removed.
“I’m thrilled for the guys that have managed to find a way of scoring in these conditions; it’s been really hard,” he said.
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Lord’s has found itself back in the spotlight again this week for how its pitch has played, with 21 wickets falling during the match to lbw and bowled deliveries.
The pitch received an ‘unsatisfactory’ rating from the ICC after the New Zealand Test in June, and today, The MCC has unveiled an Action Plan of how they hope to improve the wicket going forward.
Root, however, believes the Dukes ball has also been part of the issue.
“I know The Home of Cricket is desperate to produce the best surface possible and I’m sure they’re doing everything they can to provide that moving forward.
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“I think the balls have been very different this year,” he added. “I think there’s a different lacquer on them, I’ve not got evidence on that and probably need to ask Dukes, but I think there’s a lacquer on the seam. They don’t want them to go out of shape.
“I think that they are affecting the wickets; I think they’re dinting more, and as a batter, when you practise, they’re cracking your bats more frequently. They seem a lot firmer and probably if they’re dinting the wickets and then it’s going to seam off the dints as well.”
‘I like to think I have a big score around the corner’
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On an individual level, Root was trapped lbw by Abbas for four runs in England’s first innings, before being pinned by Mohammad Ali for 24 runs in the second.
“I’d love to have scored more runs,” Root said, reflecting on his own game. “But when you’re winning games, it’s important to see things for what they are.
“I think the reason I’ve got the runs that I have in Test cricket is I’ve always been quite good at being level and eventually problem-solving.
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“I’ll continue to keep working hard, I might have been out lbw a few times. Some of those have been on umpire’s call, which, if they go the other way, might not be as much of a talking point.
“We’ve also seen the ball move more than it ever has. Three of my lbw dismissals have been here at Lord’s where it seems significantly.
“I think there has to be a sense of calm and realism about things, but also I’ll continue to keep working at my game, improving it and I know I’m a good player. I like to think there’s a big score around the corner.”
