India vs England: Joe Root looking at 'substantial' partnerships in bid to bounce back after Lord's defeat
India vs England: Joe Root looking at 'substantial' partnerships in bid to bounce back after Lord's defeat
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Batting struggles have been one of the biggest concerns for England in the Test series so far, especially the lack of top-order runs. There is too much dependency on captain Joe Root to bail them out time and again. Now, as they head into the Leeds Test, Joe Root has emphasised the importance of stitching ‘substantial’ partnerships as they look to solve their batting problems.
In a bit to bolster their top-order batting, England have recalled Dawid Malan in place of an out-of-form Dom Sibley who has been dropped after poor performances in the first two Tests.
Sibley’s partner Rory Burns retains his place in the 15-man squad for the Leeds Test, and this could mean Haseeb Hameed could open with Burns, while Malan bats at number three.
“It’s been a challenging summer in terms of the top-order position. We’ve come across some challenging surfaces as well, and we need to just keep finding ways to keep getting better, keep improving individually, collectively — that’s the most important thing in Test cricket,” said skipper Root at a virtual press conference on Monday, before stressing on the importance of big partnerships to keep the scoreboard ticking.
“When you look at that in Test cricket, it revolves around big partnerships. Two guys bat over a period of time, the game could look completely different. And that’s our aim as a batting group. We have to look at those big substantial partnerships, which really could put your team in a really strong position”.
While Burns did score 49 in the first innings of the second Test, England batsmen have been largely inconsistent, and not getting the team off to a strong start hinders the team’s progress.
Root, who is the leading run-scorer of the series so far with 386 runs, has been involved in six fifty-plus partnerships this series, with four of them coming in the second Test.
England’s best partnership came in the first innings of the second Test when Root and Bairstow were involved in a 121-run stand for the fourth wicket, but things went downhill for the hosts once wickets started falling, and when Root hardly got any assistance from the tail-enders. Root, however, remained firm with an unbeaten 180, and the skipper was once again questioned if England were too dependent on him. But, Root is optimistic that the rest of the batsmen will step up.
“As I said, there have been times when I’ve been the one that’s missed out, and others have come to the front. I know, in the last couple of games, it’s been me scoring majority of the runs, but there’s no reason why someone else can’t be on this occasion. From my point of view, I just want to produce big scores. Hopefully, we can make those big partnerships and get those runs on board,” said Root.
Dawid Malan is an experienced campaigner when it comes to the limited-overs, but he could make a difference to the dynamics of the England XI in terms of batting. These are testing times for the likes of Burns and Hameed, but Root feels Malan’s experience in white ball cricket could be vital, while also highlighting the fact that he scored 199 against Sussex in the County Championship in June this year.
Malan has played 15 Tests, where he has scored 724 runs at an average of 27.84, but he has a far more superior record when it comes to first-class matches, with over 11,000 runs and at an average of 38. 43.
“Dawid (Malan) would offer us a lot of experience in that top three, not necessarily in terms of experience in Test cricket, but he has played a huge amount of international cricket dealing with pressure situations.
In the 2017 Ashes series, Malan ended up as England’s top run-getter with 383 runs (including a century), and a hopeful Root added Malan was capable of ‘big things’ in Test cricket.
“He’s played a lot of red-ball cricket over the course of his career and he also played a massive series in Australia where he was our leading run-scorer. We know he’s capable of big things in Test cricket. He’s coming on the back of...It’s only one score in the County Championship (199 against Sussex in June), but it’s a big one,” Root stated.
India’s pace attack has ‘variety’: Root
The Indian pace attack of Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Ishant Sharma ran riot at Lord's with Siraj picking four wickets in each of the English innings.
While the job was only half-done following that 89-run stand between Shami and Bumrah, the pacers had the last laugh with Siraj and Bumrah sharing seven wickets among them in the second innings to see off the hosts for just 120, which helped India clinched a 151-run win.
While Root did credit the Indian pacers for their performance so far, he said it was paramount that his players find a way to counter India's pace threat.
“Credit to India. They’ve got a wonderful attack. You look around Test cricket, there are some bowling attacks out there. A lot of them do suit English conditions and have the exploits to manage these conditions very well.
“India have done that very smart in the series, and we need to find ways to counter that. I think one thing they have is, they have balance, they have variety. As opposition team, you need to find ways to counter that, find ways to score, find ways to put pressure back on them,” the Yorkshire cricketer added.
