England 358 (Smith 111, Brook 56, Asitha 4-102) and 205 for 5 (Root 62*) beat Sri Lanka 236 (Dhananjaya 74, Rathnayake 72) and 326 (Kamindu 113, Chandimal 79) by five wickets Joe Root provided the calm head for a crisis, while Jamie Smith capped a Player-of-the-Match-winning performance with a vital late injection of impetus, as…
Joe Root joked that he’d been forced to channel his “inner [Nasser] Hussain” in tricky batting conditions at Emirates Old Trafford, after anchoring England’s taxing run-chase in the first Test against Sri Lanka with an unbeaten 62 from 128 balls. Speaking to Hussain and Ian Ward on Sky Sports, shortly after England’s five-wicket win on…
England will consider Joe Root and Ben Stokes for their 2025 Champions Trophy squad despite neither playing a 50-over match since last year’s World Cup. Root (rested) and Stokes (injured) are not involved in September’s five-match ODI series against Australia, and will both miss November’s tour to West Indies due to England’s Test tours to…
Big picture: Sunny weather, sunny times? Is there a danger that a competitive Test series might break out in London over the coming fortnight? This is a city where Sri Lanka, remarkably, have not lost a single Test in six visits since August 1991. Admittedly, five of those have been draws at Lord’s, although next…
Joe Root dedicated his record-equalling 33rd Test hundred to Graham Thorpe, his long-term batting mentor who died this month aged 55. Root pointed to the skies after reaching three figures and paid tribute to Thorpe’s influence on his batting, saying he “definitely wouldn’t be where I am now” without him. “I’ve been very lucky to…
Alastair Cook hailed Joe Root as “a genius” after losing his record for the most England Test centuries to his former team-mate. Root made 103 in the second innings against Sri Lanka at Lord’s on Saturday, his second hundred of the match and his 34th overall in Test cricket, taking him clear of Cook’s former…
Eoin Morgan criticised England and Ollie Pope for a lack of killer instinct with “everything in their favour”, as their refusal to continue bowling spin from both ends brought the third day of their second Test against Sri Lanka to a premature close at Lord’s. Pope brought on Shoaib Bashir and Joe Root to bowl…
Sri Lanka 196 and 53 for 2 (Karunaratne 23*, Stone 1-1, Atkinson 1-15) need a further 430 runs to beat England 427 and 251 (Root 103, Asitha 3-52, Kumara 3-53) For the second time in three days at Lord’s, it was all about Joe Root. England’s batting bellwether continued a bumper Test match by producing…
England 358 for 7 (Root 143, Atkinson 74*, Kumara 2-75, Rathnayake 2-80) vs Sri Lanka Was it brave or foolhardy to insert England beneath clear blue skies at Lord’s? As Joe Root peeled off his sixth Test hundred at the grand old ground, the verdict erred towards the latter. Gus Atkinson added to Sri Lanka’s…
Eoin Morgan believes that England must recall Joe Root and Ben Stokes to their white-ball set-up ahead of next year’s Champions Trophy in Pakistan. Root and Stokes last played ODIs at the 2023 ODI World Cup in India, where England’s attempt to defend the title they won for the first time under Morgan’s leadership in…
