{"id":125059,"date":"2024-07-13T13:00:22","date_gmt":"2024-07-13T13:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/13\/joe-root-proud-to-offer-senior-service-in-new-look-england-team\/"},"modified":"2024-07-13T13:00:22","modified_gmt":"2024-07-13T13:00:22","slug":"joe-root-proud-to-offer-senior-service-in-new-look-england-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/13\/joe-root-proud-to-offer-senior-service-in-new-look-england-team\/","title":{"rendered":"Joe Root proud to offer senior service in new-look England team"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A<\/span>s England\u2019s path to victory over West Indies<\/a> in the opening Test became a procession, a few miles away at Wimbledon and a bit more distantly at Euro 2024 other sports provided greater drama and demanded greater attention. And, as always at Lord\u2019s, many let their seats stand empty and relocated to one of the venue\u2019s champagne-themed breakout areas, there were moments when cricket felt perhaps a little incidental.<\/p>\n

In this context, the outpouring of gratitude and emotion that followed the game\u2019s conclusion and marked Jimmy Anderson\u2019s retirement<\/a> was inspiring and reassuring, a reminder of how the game and those who play it are cherished.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt was an incredible tribute, wasn\u2019t it? It just showed the impact that Jimmy\u2019s career has had on so many people, and the impact he\u2019s had on the international stage, on English cricket as a whole,\u201d Joe Root<\/a> said. \u201cThese days, they\u2019re few and far between, aren\u2019t they? You don\u2019t get the opportunity to celebrate such a wonderful career and someone that\u2019s done things in the game that no one else has done before. I think it\u2019s something we\u2019ll look back on treasure. For me, all I\u2019ve ever known for England is playing alongside Jimmy. It\u2019s a bit of a weird one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anderson\u2019s retirement, following Stuart Broad\u2019s last year, leaves Root the father of the house: of England\u2019s current players Ben Stokes on 103 is closest to Root\u2019s total of 141 Tests. It would seem natural, inevitable even, that a senior player watching the scenes that unfolded on Friday afternoon might start to ponder the choreography of their own departure, but Root insisted he had no such thoughts.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to think I\u2019ll be playing for a good while yet, and when that day comes I\u2019m sure I\u2019ll figure something out,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to earn the right to have that sort of fairy tale ending. My focus purely is on scoring as many runs for this team as I can and helping us win as many games as we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

For this England side the focus is on renewal, with the Surrey players Gus Atkinson (who took seven first-innings wickets and another five in the second) and Jamie Smith (faultless with the gloves and scoring 70 at No 7) both enjoying extraordinary introductions this week and another potential debutant in Dillon Pennington waiting in the wings. \u201cThe majority of guys have been in and around the squad, it\u2019s not like it\u2019s a complete fresh start or rearranging things completely,\u201d Root said. \u201cIt feels more like a continuation of things.<\/p>\n

\u201cGus has been around things for a long time, both in white and red ball, and it was great to see him come in. We\u2019ve seen in spurts in county cricket and in practice what talent he has, the ability he\u2019s got. For him to just transfer that straight away on to this stage, and to back up a brilliant performance in the first innings with that in the second innings was just fantastic.<\/p>\n

<\/svg><\/span>Joe Root said the tribute to Jimmy Anderson was incredible.<\/span> Photograph: Andrew Fosker\/Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI think the future does look very bright in the bowling department. We\u2019ve lost our greatest ever bowler but for someone to come in and do that shows a lot about where we are as a team. We\u2019re moving in the right direction and we\u2019re continuing to add to all facets of our game as a squad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Root said Smith\u2019s keeping had been \u201cworld class\u201d, particularly on the first morning when \u201cit wobbled around and he made it look very easy, very comfortable\u201d, and that his innings had been enough to instantly establish his reputation. \u201cHe\u2019ll turn up at Trent Bridge and as he walks out to bat there\u2019ll be that fear in the opposition now, that he has the ability to really take the game away and make it very difficult to close an innings out,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s nice to see two guys come in and pretty much be the most effective two players in the whole game.\u201d<\/p>\n

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