England captain Joe Root feels that it would be nice to see more of these pitches during the home season and the county circuit.
Follow Us
After their recent loss in the fourth Test against India, England captain Joe Root believes that the pitch for the Oval Test was an example of a good Test track. Root said it would be nice to see more of these during the home season and the county circuit. England are having a forgettable summer at home, having lost to New Zealand in June and now trailing India 1-2 in the ongoing five-match series.
We’ve named a 16-player squad for the fifth LV= Insurance Test match against India ?
??????? #ENGvIND ??
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) September 7, 2021
The wicket at The Oval favoured the pacers early on before becoming a perfect pitch for batting. However, on day five, Indian bowlers dug deep to bowl out the English batsmen for a famous win.
“Home advantage is always going to be there. In this country at times with the weather, the amount of rain can disrupt how you prepare a pitch. But from my point of view I encourage just really good Test wickets,” he said in an online press conference.
“If we’re going to be the best team in the world, we’re going to have to be playing on good wickets which are flat in certain periods. We’re also going to have to be able to learn to deal with the scoreboard pressure.
“We should also be able to deal with the pressure of spinning wicket towards the back end of the Test match,” he added.
Preparing a green top on the pitch can also be counter-productive for England, because of the high-quality pace attack India possess. Root has not seen the wicket for the fifth Test in Manchester yet but he has gained a lot of knowledge on the conditions at Old Trafford by playing thrice last year.
“So, from our point of view, I just want English conditions. And hopefully that’s what we get this week,” Root said ahead of the game beginning Friday.
The England skipper said the surface last week was the perfect advertisement for Test cricket and he wants more surfaces like that in county cricket.
“…ultimately it comes down to playing on good wickets. That’s part of the challenge. It doesn’t really matter what time of year you play. And you look at this last Test match, it is a brilliant example.
“You’ve got seam and swing in the first innings. It got very good for batting and throughout the middle phases again and then reverse swing came into it later on. I mean, it had been everything for everyone,” he explained.
“That’s the sort of thing that we should be mirroring in County Cricket so guys have to deal with all aspects of the game. You should be able to deliver when conditions are in your favour, but also when it gets flat.”
He also confirmed that Jos Buttler will be back as vice-captain of the side after missing the last game and there is likely to be a dilemma between Ollie Pope and Jonny Bairstow in the playing eleven.
“It is a decision we will take over the next couple of days. We’ll make sure that we feel very confident about their fitness and will ask them also (how they feel) when it comes down to selecting,” said Root.
When asked if India have handled the pressure better in the series, Root disagreed.
“Within this series, there have been half an hour periods of the game where we’ve not managed it as well as them and it’s really cost us. Instead of 2-1 down we could have potentially been 3-0 up.”
Root also insisted he wants his batsmen to be greedy for big scores and is also seeking improvement in slip catching.
Jasprit Bumrah bowled a match-winning spell at The Oval but Root said his players are not particularly wary of him as they have played him well in the Test that England won at Leeds.
“He bowled a brilliant spell. He is one of the best fast bowlers in the world. But we’ve also played him well a game earlier. And I think it’s really important that we remember that as a batting group, we’ve had a good success against him,” he added.
Rishabh Pant's explosive last-over blitz ignites IPL 2024 amid T20 World Cup comeback talks
