With England having a good chance at hand to win the Test series 3-1, Captain Joe Root on Thursday (January 23) said winning the South Africa Test series would be his “biggest” and “proudest” “achievement as captain, as the hosts are eyeing a series-clinching victory in the Johannesburg Test.
After suffering defeat in the Boxing Day Test, England made a remarkable comeback in the ongoing four-match Test series, as a young team went on to win both Cape Town and Port Elizabeth Tests to take a 2-1 lead in the ongoing series despite facing several challenges on the South Africa tour.
Ever since landing in the rainbow nation, the English camp has been hit hard by both sickness bug and injuries to James Anderson, Jack Leach, and Rory Burns, who have returned home, while Jofra Archer missed the last two Tests with an elbow issue.
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Given the circumstances, Root said beating the Proteas in their own backyard would be pleasing for him and his young side in many ways ahead of the final Test on Friday (January 24).
Root told reporters, “It's been a tour that has thrown everything at us. But the whole squad, the players and the coaching staff, have worked tirelessly to make sure we stayed calm and as in control as we could. When we've had our opportunities to bounce back, we've really taken them.”
He further added, “It's been really pleasing in many ways. We're a very young side at the start of something and we've seen some very promising performances. To win three Tests in a row would be a very big achievement for this group.”
Root said when he was asked if winning this series would be his biggest achievement, “A series win here probably would be my proudest and biggest achievement as captain, because of the different things we've had to manage throughout this tour. We've had injuries and senior players having to fly home and a lot of illness to deal with and we have adapted to very different conditions.”
He signed off by saying, “For a young group of players that has been very pleasing and a sign we're doing the right things. If we can harness that and keep looking to improve then I do think the sky's the limit for this team. But we're very much at the start of something here and we're not perfect by any means. We have to keep that attitude and keep driving that forward for a long period of time if we want to get to number one in the world.”
(With Reuters Inputs)
