England fast bowler Chris Woakes has heaped praise on ace batsman Joe Root before and after the three-match one-day international (ODI) series opener against Sri Lanka on Tuesday (June 29) at Emirates Riverside in Chester-le-Street, as the Test skipper completed 150 ODIs for the country.
Root became the seventh England cricketer to play 150 ODIs when he turned up in the first ODI against Sri Lanka on Tuesday and he made the occasion special by playing the match-winning knock of 79* off 87 balls to help the hosts beat the Islanders by 5 wickets inside the 35 overs in Chester-le-Street.
On Root’s 150th ODI appearance, Woakes – who returned with the excellent figures of 4/18 to win Man of the Match against Sri Lanka – was chosen to make the pre-match presentation and he feeling nervous about his less usual role as a public speaker but was in full of praise for the world-class cricketer.
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After winning the first ODI, Woakes said of Root: “Not that he needed to, but it certainly reminded today that he is a class act. He probably doesn’t actually realize how good he is himself. He’s got close to 80 at almost run a ball. When you’re watching, he kind of accumulates without you even knowing it. He’s a world-class player, and he made that look extremely easy when we know it actually wasn’t.”
He added, “He’s very much a calming influence on this group. We’ve got a very aggressive batting line-up and we do take the attack to the opposition but over the last couple of years we’ve also been very smart and obviously, Joe’s a big part of that, he is very much the glue through the middle.”
On Root’s cap presentation ceremony, Woakes said before the game: “I didn’t get much sleep last night!” he joked, when asked about his part in Root’s cap presentation. I delivered the speech then realized I had a game to play. It was a really nice moment and nice to be asked.”
The bowler further added, “I said that I could harp on about all the stats and the figures, but actually what he’s so good at is he trains well and he’s always looking at ways to get better. He’s always trying to improve himself even though he’s at the top of his game already.”
With Sri Lanka sent three of their first-choice batsmen to home following a breach of team rules, Woakes insisted the off-field drama has had minimal impact on the hosts.
The pacer noted, “Any day you turn up to play against another international and you’re stepping on the field for England, you’re always going to give him 100 percent. We’re always being judged, always being scrutinized as a professional cricketer so you know you’ve got a job to do, regardless of the opposition.”
He signed off by saying, “Obviously we do our analysis on the opposition, unfortunately for them, they’ve lost a few key players but it doesn’t take away from the job that we’ve got in hand. If anything, it means that we have to be more professional and try and get the job done.”
(With PA Cricket Inputs)
