Joe Root confident of England making a strong comeback in the ODI format

Joe Root believes England will make a strong turnaround in the 50-overs format if the players retain a clear mindset and belief in their abilities. 

In the recently concluded ODI series at home, the Three Lions faced a defeat against India. Coming at number three, Root could only contribute 11 runs in three innings. On the other hand, the likes of Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow could not weave their magic. 

In the bowling unit, Reece Topley was a standout performer, while others lacked wicket-taking abilities. The team certainly missed the services of injured Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, and Chris Woakes. Leg-spinner Adil Rashid was unavailable as well. 

A Perfect storm of everything coming together

The 31-year-old has blamed busy schedules, injury concerns, and the poor performance of senior players for the loss to India. However, Root believes that the group have produced remarkable comebacks in the past and can replicate the same in the near future. 

On Tuesday, England faced a loss in the first fixture of the ongoing ODI series against South Africa as well. Both teams will face each other on Friday (22 July) for a crucial second ODI. 

Read: Jos Buttler blames lack of wickets in middle-overs for the loss

“We’ve had a very busy schedule. There’s still a lot of players that aren’t available for selection at the minute through injury. And in the last series, you didn’t have big senior players step up with performances, like myself. It’s like the perfect storm of everything coming together,” said Root. 

“And when it doesn’t go well it’s really important that you stay strong, you stick to how you want to approach things as a group, and you fully believe it and back it. We’ve shown that we can do that before and I’m very confident we’ll be doing that again in the near future.”

Root terms Stokes’ ODI retirement decision as selfless

Root lauded Stokes for understanding the responsibilities and the performance expected from a red-ball captain. He hopes the all-rounder can do well in the other two formats, after his retirement from ODIs. 

“You want to see your best players playing as many formats and you don’t want to dilute the product. But credit to him [Stokes] for being able to come to that decision and understanding himself so well, his body and the responsibilities he now has as England captain,” said Root. 

Read: Ben Stokes looking to follow in Anderson-Broad's footsteps and prolong Test career