Root keen to master all trades to boost hopes

Joe Root did not get the chance to lay bat on ball on his one-day debut for England – but he still did enough to catapult his name up the list of potential all-rounders.

Root, 22, has been fast-tracked by England for his talents at the top of the order but enjoyed an unusual bow in the 50-over formaton Friday.

Pencilled in to bat at four in the first one-day international against India in Rajkot, he was shunted down to seven as the tourists responded to a rapid start by promoting their bigger hitters.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He was not required to take the crease as England posted a formidable 325-4 but then found himself called upon to perform a crucial job with the ball.

Despite being an irregular off-spinner for Yorkshire, he was chosen ahead of Samit Patel to help James Tredwell put the brakes on a dangerous opening stand by Gautam Gambhir and Ajinkya Rahane.

The experiment worked better than captain Alastair Cook could have imagined as his first spell of five overs cost jut 17 runs.

He ended up bowling nine overs for 51, a creditable return in a match dominated by batsmen.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Root concedes that he has not played a match as a specialist bowler for more than a decade, but has been putting in plenty of hard work to ready himself for the experience.

“That probably hasn’t happened since I was 10 or 11 years old, playing my first men’s cricket, but it was fantastic and I wouldn’t change a thing,” he said.

“I’ve been working hard on the bowling to give the captain as many options as possible out there. The aim was that if I possibly had a chance to bowl I wouldn’t disappoint and be consistent as possible.

“I’ve been working hard for a while now and working here with Mushy (Mushtaq Ahmed, England spin coach). I need to make sure it is going to be a really big asset for me in the future and take any chances of having as many options as I can to give myself the best chance of selection.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

n Lahiru Thirimanne completed his first international century with the winning shot as Sri Lanka levelled their one-day international series against Australia with a straightforward eight-wicket victory in Adelaide.

Thirimanne capped the win in style, cutting past point for four to finish unbeaten on 102.

Sri Lanka’s bowlers set the stage by bowling out the hosts for a disappointing 170, and Thirimanne and Tillakaratne Dilshan (51) then dominated with the bat to wrap up victory with 59 balls to spare.

Related topics: