Root calls for adaptable England ahead of Pakistan challenge
Joe Root is calling on his England teammates to perform during their three-match Test series with Pakistan.
Newly-appointed England captain Joe Root wants his side to be adaptable as they ready for their return to ICC World Test Championship play when they take on Pakistan in Leeds.
Root gets the chance to impress in his second stint as England's Test captain when his side hosts in-form Pakistan at Headingley and the veteran batter has indicated he doesn't want his teammates to shy away completely from the brash, attacking style they previously played with under former coach Brendon McCullum.
Instead Root thinks his side must be able to adapt to different situations quickly and showcase their skills in different ways.
"I don't think there's a huge amount we need to change. It's small things that will make a big difference," Root said ahead of the first Test that commences on Wednesday.
"It's not about ripping it up, I think it's about keeping a lot of the good stuff we've been doing for a period of time, stuff that Ben (Stokes) and Baz (McCullum) built for a long while."
"I don't believe there is one way of playing Test cricket.
"You've got to be adaptable and play the situation. It's never the same throughout five days, there's different challenges and you've got to adjust to the ebbs and flows throughout."
Root previously captained England at Test level for 65 Tests between 2017 and 2022 and the 35-year-old believes his is now better placed to perform the difficult job with aplomb given his experience as a player under former skipper Ben Stokes.
"The landscape is different," he said. "I'm a different player and person than I was when I (first) took over as captain.
"I'm in a very fortunate, unique position where I've got 60-odd games of experience to look back on. There are things I might want to change and do slightly differently.
"I had time to step away, play in a different environment, different coach, different captain, and see the game from a different lens.
"In many ways I feel as ready as any other England captain that's been before, and to have that amount of experience is invaluable."
England squad: Joe Root (c), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Jordan Cox, Ben Duckett, Matthew Fisher, Emilio Gay, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue
Series schedule:
First Test: August 19-23, Headingley, Leeds
Second Test: August 27-31, Lord’s, London
Third Test: September 9-13, Edgbaston, Birmingham