LONDON – England captain Joe Root has admitted his side have a “point toprove” as they look to square a two-Test series with Pakistan.
England faces setback as Root’s men could be without Ben Stokes after theall-rounder suffered a tight hamstring during fielding practice atHeadingley on Wednesday.
Stokes will now undergo a scan to assess the full extent of the injury andis set to face a fitness test before England decide whether he can facePakistan at Yorkshire s headquarters when the series finale starts onFriday.
Uncapped teenaged Surrey seamer Sam Curran has been called up as cover forfellow paceman Stokes.
“Of course if Ben s fit we want him in the side, he s one of our bestplayers, he brings a lot to the table and offers so much to this team,”Root told Sky Sports on Thursday.
Pakistan won the first Test by nine wickets at Lord s inside four days onSunday to go 1-0 up in a two-match series but Root believes the fact histeam are back in action so soon will benefit them in Leeds.
“I think it helps us getting straight back into it, not having too muchtime to think about things,” Root said ahead of a match at his Yorkshirehome ground.
“It was very clear where we needed to improve from last week,” added thebatsman, whose England side have lost six of their last eight Test matches.
“We ve had some good preparation, the guys have really worked hard and nowit s just doing it, going out and proving a point, putting a really strongperformance in as a group and showing some pride in the badge.”
Lancashire s Keaton Jennings has been recalled to thr top of the order inplace of the dropped Mark Stoneman to partner Alastair Cook.
“He will be desperate to take his opportunity,” said Root of Jennings.
“Every player in this side wants to make an impact this week. Every time weplay a Test match there are all sorts of different pressures that come withit and for Keaton it s a great opportunity.
“I hope he looks at it that way and goes out and expresses himself in hisown way.”
Root has found himself under pressure for a failure to convert fifties intoTest hundreds, but he insisted he felt good about his game.
“When you are winning and performing well you have to keep churning outthose performances and when you re on the other side of it you ve got tomake sure you turn it round,” Root said.
“As always I ve gone into practice, felt if there were any areas I wantedto work on and got them done so I can go in full of confidence tomorrow andknow I ve given myself the best chance.
“It s nice to have that feeling going into any game.” – APP/AFP