Joe Root hopes Leeds win is ‘the start of something’

It took England just three days to beat Pakistan by an innings and 55 runs in the second and final Test in Leeds, and the series-levelling win “could potentially be the start of something”, according to Joe Root, the England captain.

In the first Test of the English summer at Lord's, Pakistan registered a crushing nine-wicket victory over the hosts. The defeat drew significant criticism from all quarters, which had put Root & Co. under added pressure.

Going into the final Test, Root said he had asked his men to play with pride and show character. “I asked a lot of things of them, and everything I asked was delivered on the field,” he said after the win. “We spoke as a group after last week’s game. Spoke about character and a number of things. But we wanted to make sure we played with pride and enjoyment.

“We learned very quickly, adapted very well to the conditions. We didn’t win the toss, but we bowled well, a few guys stood up with points to prove and did well. It was a tough week, but we responded well.”

Root praised his team's collective effort, especially the bowling unit, led by James Anderson and Stuart Broad, who picked up 11 wickets between them in the game.

“They didn’t let me down,” he said. “They set the tone, and they were fantastic. And they were very well backed up. As a group, we were really good. We were disciplined with the bat, there was really good balance between attack and defence, and it was really pleasing for me.”

Jos Buttler, who returned to England's Test side for the series against Pakistan after almost one-and-a-half years, was England's star batsman with an 80* in their only innings.

With 161 runs, Buttler finished the series as the top scorer overall.

“Jos is very street-smart … he’s played a lot of international cricket, has huge amounts of experience, and he reads the game exceptionally well. It looks as if he’s got his head round that role at No 7, so I hope that’s something long-term that can really benefit this side,” said Root.

Dom Bess, too, drew Root's praise. “One thing we knew we were going to get from Dom was that character,” said the England captain. “He was padded up for 45 minutes, desperate to get in as nightwatchman because he wanted to be involved in the game.”

England's next Test assignment will be a five-match series against India. Root wants to take the positives forward and expects his side to be more consistent going ahead. “There are a lot of long-term things that are going to have to ­happen for us to get to where we want. We have to give that chance to work. If we continue to stick to that, we’ll start to see more consistent performances,” he said.

“It’s now about replicating it more consistently, sticking to what we want to do long-term around the actual games and then really ­trusting all the work we’re doing, under pressure, just as we have done throughout these three days.”