‘Strong reactions show how fans expect game to be played’ – Root

The reaction that the Australians’ ball-tampering incident had triggered was a reminder of how people wanted cricket to be played, said Joe Root, the England captain, while Kane Williamson, his New Zealand counterpart, backed the three sanctioned players to learn from their mistake.

As a result of their role in the ball-tampering affair, Steve Smith and David Warner were banned for 12 months and Cameron Bancroft for nine. Root and Williamson expressed sympathy for their colleagues, even as they stressed on the kind of cricket their teams hoped to play.

"You've seen the amount of reaction it has got around the world, which just shows [how] everyone watching the game and who supports cricket want to see the game played," said Root, ahead of the second Test against New Zealand starting on Friday, 30 March.

Williamson, who replaced Warner as captain of their Indian Premier League side Sunrisers Hyderabad, sympathised with his former teammate and said it was a “shame” how the events had panned out.

“I’ve sent a few texts (to Warner), that’s about it – he’s not a bad person by any means,” said Williamson. “There’s been a lot of emotion and energy pointed at certain players, which has gone to extreme lengths. It will blow over in time, but it’s grown and grown and like I say, he’s not a bad guy.

“He’s made a mistake and certainly admitted that,” he added. “They (Smith and Warner) will have to take the strong punishment and move on. You always learn from tough lessons and I’m sure they’ll do that. But it is a shame that two fantastic, world-class players have made a mistake.”

Darren Lehmann, the Australian coach, has hailed the New Zealand way of playing cricket, and Root admitted it was a different atmosphere playing against them.

"It's hard to put your finger on exactly what it is. In terms of atmosphere on the field there might not be as much said verbally when you're playing New Zealand. But you still get a sense they are playing good, hard cricket,” he said. “They go about things very much in their own way but you know you are up against a side who are desperate to win and are very skilful.

“Relationships between England and New Zealand have been pretty good for a number of years, and it's the same with the majority of countries we play against. I'm not saying Australia don't bring that to the table when you play against them, but it is a different atmosphere in my experience.”

Williamson credited Brendon McCullum, the former captain, for setting in place that culture. “It’s been a part of our environment for some time and we want to maintain that,” he said. “We believe that suits us as people and we want to commit to that, play as hard as we can on the park, but at the end of the day, the game finishes and you are still people. That’s what we like to hang our hat on, but we certainly don’t point fingers.

“Everyone makes mistakes at times and you do need to learn from them and move on.”

It is with that sense of positivity that both teams are set to play the crucial second Test in Christchurch. New Zealand, leading 1-0, have not won a Test series against England on home soil in almost 34 years. The visitors, meanwhile, are looking to avoid their streak of 10 losses in their last 12 overseas Tests.

Despite skittling out England for only 58 in the first innings of the opening Test, Williamson said taking England lightly would be a mistake. "I think it's a fairly even playing field," he said. "We know this English team is very well balanced and a talented side … Coming into tomorrow, I'm sure it will be a close game."