Ben Stokes had promised Joe Root to make a bowler out of him and the maverick England skipper is glad that he has succeeded in his mission, evidence of which were the five wickets the top batter picked in a famous win.
England’s best batter Root was also their best bowler in the first innings of the Hyderabad Test against India and ended with five wickets in the game.
He picked up the key wicket of K L Rahul in the second innings, following his four wickets in the first, to play a major part in England’s sensational comeback win.
Root got the ball to turn at good pace and his straighter one also troubled the Indian batters. With Jack Leach out of second Test, Root will be expected to shoulder more responsibility in an experienced spin department. He bowled a total of 48 overs in the series opener.
“I did always say to Joe I thought he under-bowled himself as captain, and when he walked off with four-fer I did say to him, ‘see, I told ya I’d make a bowler out of ya’.
“Having someone like that out here who is not only someone to throw the ball to and change the pace of the game up – he’s bowled me lots of overs, Joe has – then having him batting at four and the runs he’s scored and how important he is to us. “To also have the benefit of Joe’s bowling out here is obviously massive. I’m surprised he’s not actually mentioned he’s nipped above me, but I think we’re just two people who don’t really care about stuff like that,” said Stokes on the eve of the second Test.
England has brought in the evergreen James Anderson in place of Mark Wood while bringing in uncapped Shoaib Bashir for the injured Leach. Bashir arrived late in India because of visa issues and was not available for selection for the opener.