Joe Root urges batsmen to show a little bit of grit ahead of the second Test

Having taken a 1-0 lead in the series against South Africa, the England cricket team is currently on a roll. However, one statistic that will worry captain Joe Root is that they have been able to win two successive Test matches at home only three times since the start of 2015. It is the inconsistency, especially of the batsmen, that has held back the side.

Speaking ahead of the second Test match, Root has urged all the batters in the team to have a little bit of grit and to develop an attitude to ensure that their own contribution is the one that counts. He recounted how Jonny Bairstow’s knock of 51 in the second innings of the Lord’s Test was the perfect exemplification of what he wanted to see.

Code to become a better side

“He (Bairstow) did get a life but you could see the way he went about it,” the captain said. “He’s got that look in his eye when he gets in in a difficult situation. He wants to wrestle things back in our favour and all of us can take a lot from that. Hopefully, when different individuals get that opportunity, they take that on and we become a better side for it.”

Root heaped praise on England’s top order comprising of Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings and Gary Ballance for the way they batted. “I thought the way he [Ballance] played in the second innings was probably worth at least double on that surface,” he said. “All three of those guys at the top made it look a lot easier than it was and that was proved in the result. He looked very good and comfortable in the first innings until his dismissal, he put the bowlers under pressure on occasions.”

The England captain also conceded that he was at his best when batting at No. 4 and said that he will continue to bat at that position for the foreseeable future. “I do think that me batting at four is where I get the best out of myself,” he mentioned. “It was important I made that decision. In terms of Gary, all his success for England has come batting at three. There’s no reason why he can’t go on and do that again,” Root concluded.