Joe Root was adamant he had a “lot more to contribute” after his record-breaking 34th Test century took England nearer to a series victory over Sri Lanka at Lord’s.
Root equalled retired England opener Alastair Cook’s national record earlier this week but the 33-year-old Yorkshireman is now out in front after scoring centuries in both innings for the first time in his 145-Test career.
Saturday’s display was also the quickest of any of Root’s hundreds in Test cricket, with the former England captain needing just 111 balls to reach three figures.
He eventually holed out for 103, the cornerstone of England’s second-innings 251, with Sri Lanka 53-2 at stumps on the third day in pursuit of what would be a new record fourth-innings total to win a Test of 483.
Both Cook and fellow former England skipper Michael Vaughan described Root as England’s “greatest” batsman while commentating on BBC Radio but the man of the moment insisted he was far from done with Test cricket.
“It’s obviously nice to get plaudits like that off two of England’s greatest players,” Root told reporters after stumps.
“But I feel like there’s a lot more work to be done and a lot more to contribute, still. When that peters out, I guess I’ll start thinking about that, then.
“Until that sort of enthusiasm has left me, who knows what it means? But it’s a very fickle game and things can change very quickly. You want to stay hungry.
“I think the last little while, I feel like I’ve had a good balance of wanting to get better and evolve, but not trying too much, too quickly. And I guess that’s the art of it.”
– ‘Fun environment’ –
Root has now moved into joint sixth-place in the all-time list of Test century-makers alongside Younis Khan, Sunil Gavaskar, Brian Lara and Mahela Jayawardene.
And since giving up the England captaincy two years ago, Root has prospered under coach Brendon McCullum and currently injured captain Ben Stokes, with the elegant right-hander averaging nearly 60 while scoring nine hundreds in 28 Tests.
“This environment and the way we look at the game now is so fun to be around, it’s an environment where you see guys thrive and even as a senior player it gives you so much energy,” Root said.
Root embraced his father at the end of his innings, although he almost missed the moment.
“I nearly blanked him, I didn’t even realise it was him to start with, so it was really nice to share that moment with him,” explained Root.
Former England team-mate Ian Bell, Sri Lanka’s batting coach for this three-match series, lauded Root by saying: “It was awesome to watch. His skill level is incredible.
“I’ve spent plenty of time playing with Joe, watching him train and the way he goes about his business, just to see what he’s achieved with so much more to give is quite incredible.”
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