Root: England were ‘outplayed across all three departments’
England captain Joe Root admits his team were “well below par” and “outplayed across all three departments” as they crashed to a nine-wicket defeat against Pakistan at Lord’s on Sunday.
The tourists took the last four England wickets quickly on the fourth morning before knocking off the easy target of 66 with only one wicket down to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.
England have now lost six of their last eight Test matches under Root’s captaincy and the skipper knows they need to perform better.
Bayliss: Nowhere near good enough for Test level
Root said: “We know we’re under-performing – we’ve not performed to anywhere we need to.
“We’ve been outplayed across all three departments – and in particular, it was disappointing with the bat first up. It really hurt us not getting the score we needed.
“We were well below par and always chasing the game really, trying to find a way back in.
“We have looked at things, and had a really good chat about how we wanted to approach this summer – and I think we went about things the right way. We’ve got to give it time to work.”
Root is however against making wholesale changes ahead of the second and final Test that starts at Headingley on Friday.
The England skipper continued: “It’s easy to look at [this result] and say ‘Right, we need to make drastic changes’.
“But it’s not just one or two guys – we were collectively all under par this week. We have to take that on the chin, learn the lessons very quickly and make sure we respond well.
“It would be very easy to go into next week feeling sorry for ourselves and think there’s no way forward for us – but absolutely there is.”
Latest
-
NewsJames Anderson leads the way as England bowl Sri Lanka out for 381
Spinners Jack Leach and Dom Bess were left to nurse a combined return of nought for 195 in 64 overs.
-
NewsJames Anderson lands key wicket but Niroshan Dickwella fights on
England’s record wicket-taker was immediately on the hunt again, finding sharp movement off the pitch to remove Mathews in his first over.
-
NewsOn this day in 2016: Shivnarine Chanderpaul announces international retirement
Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2008, the West Indies batsman became only the second player to make a double century in his first Test as captain.
-
NewsSri Lanka v England Day One: Anderson and Mathews vie for control in Galle
James Anderson returned figures of three for 24.
-
NewsJames Anderson reveals nerves on Test return
The England seamer added to his 600 wickets as Sri Lanka finished day one on 229 for four in Galle.
-
NewsAlex Hales hits blistering Big Bash century
Hales has been in international exile since a second recreational drug test failure on the eve of England’s triumphant World Cup campaign.
-
NewsAngelo Mathews century repels England after James Anderson’s three-wicket burst
The 38-year-old finished with exemplary figures of three for 24 on a surface offering precious little encouragement.
-
NewsShubman Gill learned backfoot game with ‘1500 short balls every day’
Shubman Gill impressed with his technique against short-pitch bowling, and his father has said he honed those skills during practice.
-
NewsSri Lanka steady ship after James Anderson takes three wickets in Galle
The home side reached 155 for three at tea, with England’s record wicket-taker responsible for all three dismissals.
-
NewsCSA confident Australia tour will go ahead
CSA is confident the scheduled Australia tour to the country will take place despite the increasing number of Covid-19 cases in South Africa