London, Aug 1 (IANS) Reappointed as England’s Test captain, veteran batter Joe Root has stated that he will not completely rip apart the fearless approach built by the side over the last four years, but plans to sharpen certain areas to turn the team into a more ‘formidable’ unit starting with the upcoming series against Pakistan.
For the series against Pakistan starting on August 19, Root will team up with interim head coach Marcus Trescothick, with newly appointed Test coach Stephen Fleming to join from the series against South Africa, set to happen later this year.
“I’ve spoken briefly (with him). If I’m being really honest, there was a big reason why I wanted to do it. I’m very excited by the way he sees the game, where he sees us sit as a team and the work that we have to do to get to where we want to get to. All of that got me very excited about taking this role on.
“So I’m very much looking forward to working with him. He’s obviously got a wealth of experience and done some amazing things within the game as a player and as a coach. I’m very much looking forward to the next little while and us trying to build something pretty special together,” Root said in a video posted on the official ECB website on Saturday.
Addressing the team’s tactical direction, Root made it clear that while he won’t abandon the foundational principles established during the Ben Stokes-Brendon McCullum era, subtle adjustments will be made.
“In terms of environments and stuff, there’s clearly things that you’re always looking to add and to improve. But I think the wrong thing to do would be to completely rip everything up that we’ve done over the last four years. There’s so much good stuff that Ben and Brendon did and changed the way that we look at the game, changed how we see the game.
“I’ve benefited hugely from that as a player. So to sort of think we’ve got to start all over again would be wrong, but there’s certain areas that we want to just maybe sharpen up a little bit and become a little bit sterner with. So over time, hopefully we can implement that and you can see that in the way that we play our cricket out on the field,” he added.
Reflecting fondly on the previous four years, Root acknowledged how much the environment transformed his own outlook on cricket. “The last four years have been the most fun I’ve had in professional cricket and a big part of that was down to the way that they got me to see the game, how I fit into that side, and the experiences that we managed to create on and off the field.
“Clearly the last little while is probably what’s fresh in everyone’s mind, but you’re looking at a four-year period where we did a lot of amazing things. So I’ve, throughout that, taken a lot from it and I feel that will be a big part of how I want to approach things moving forward as the leader of this team,” he added.
Highlighting the core strength of England’s recent brand of cricket, Root pointed to the elimination of fear as the key driver of success, provided it is balanced with situational awareness. “I think the thing that stands out the most for me is the shift in mindset that was created around how we want to play the game, trying to strip the fear away from things, make sure guys feel that they can really just allow their talent to come out as frequently as possible and in big moments in games.
“The more that that can happen the better and if we can do that alongside recognising when the right time is to put pressure back on teams or when the right time is to soak it up and to maybe play situations slightly differently, become a little bit smarter in certain areas, then I think it would be a very formidable team and a very difficult team to break down and to beat,” he added.
Looking ahead to the series against Pakistan, Root stated that clarity of roles will be vital, especially with many players set to come into red-ball cricket after playing The Hundred. “It will always be a huge honour to turn up at the start of a Test series and to get your teeth into what will be a really good contest against a good team in Pakistan. So I’ll be very much looking forward to it and getting all the guys in. It’s going to be slightly different.
“It’s going to be quite tricky. It’s a very short turnaround. So it’s going to be important that we start really well in those two days that we have leading into the game. It’s a very busy period ahead. I think more than anything is giving the group real clarity about what’s expected from them.
“Clearly it would be great to leave the summer with a Test series win. But ultimately it’s understanding what’s going to be expected from them for the next little while and how we’re going to get to where we want to get to. With the players and the skill that we have available to us, if we live by that and we have complete buy-in from everyone on that, then I believe that the success will follow,” Root concluded.
–IANS
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