Joe Root on Sunday said that he has “still got a lot to give” after yet another record-breaking display in his celebrated career guided England to a one-day series win over the West Indies.
England’s pursuit of 309 in Cardiff was in dire straits at 2-2, with the hosts in fresh trouble at 133-5, but Root’s one-day international best of 166 not out off 139 balls sealed a three-wicket win and an unassailable 2-0 lead with one to play at The Oval in London today.
His innings at Sophia Gardens also saw star batsman Root become England’s highest run-scorer in one-day internationals, surpassing retired World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan’s tally of 6,957.
Photo: Reuters
“It’s a sign you’re getting old, having played as many games as that,” said the smiling 34-year-old after becoming the first England batsman to go past 7,000 one-day international runs.
Root, also England’s record Test run-scorer and the top-ranked batsman in that format, was adamant he remained as run-hungry as ever.
“I want to give as much as I can for England for as long as I can,” Root said. “I’ve still got a lot to give and a lot more runs in there, and hopefully, an innings like that shows that.”
“Until that desire, that want to get better every day, want to add to the group and want to be not out at the end of a chase like that, when that’s not a burning desire any more, it will be time to stop,” he said. “It doesn’t feel like that’s anywhere near the case at the moment, and I’ll keep just trying to do my part in helping us win games and series down the line.”
Harry Brook has overseen England’s first one-day series triumph since September 2023 after taking over as white-ball captain from Jos Buttler, who rarely had a full-strength squad to choose from during his time as skipper.
“I’ve played a huge amount of cricket with Jos and almost felt guilty that I wasn’t able to be there for him throughout a lot of his tenure,” said Root, who played just 19 one-day matches between England’s 2019 World Cup triumph and their woeful 2023 title defense as priority was given to the Test side. “I want to play as much as I can for England. If I’m going to make the team better, then absolutely.”
The West Indies, capitalizing on some slack England fielding, were all set for a huge total at 170-2 after 30 overs, with Keacy Carty making a fine century, but they were held to 308 all out off 47.4 overs, with leg-spinner Adil Rashid taking four wickets and fast bowler Saqib Mahmood three.
Root, while saying Brook is an “idiot” beyond the boundary, praised his fellow Yorkshireman’s tactical nous on the field after England won with seven balls to spare.
“As much as he’s an idiot away from cricket — and I can say that because I’ve known him forever — he’s very cricket intelligent,” Root said. “He understands the game exceptionally well.”
Taiwan’s top male badminton player, Chou Tien-chen, on Saturday bowed out in the men’s singles semi-finals at the Thailand Open after losing in straight games to Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn. The world No. 6 Chou, seeded fourth at the Super 500 tournament, lost to the world No. 2 Thai 21-7, 21-19 in 53 minutes. The victory improved Vitidsarn’s head-to-head record against Chou to 3-5. Chou, 36, trailed throughout the opening game after the score was tied 2-2. His relatively passive approach allowed the 25-year-old Thai to capitalize on Chou’s defensive clears with powerful smashes while committing few unforced errors. The Taiwanese
FRUSTRATION: Gauff smacked herself on the head with her racket before storming down the tunnel, emerging afterward to have a heated discussion with her coach Elina Svitolina on Saturday won the Italian Open after beating Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 6-2 to claim her third Rome title, while Jannik Sinner set a date with Casper Ruud in the men’s final. Ukraine’s Svitolina had not claimed a WTA 1000 title since her last victory at the Foro Italico eight years ago, but prevailed over the ever-erratic Gauff to claim her 20th tournament triumph. Saturday’s win over Gauff was her third in a row against a player in the top four of the world rankings — including Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina — ahead of the French
West Ham United’s 3-1 defeat at Newcastle United on Sunday left Tottenham Hotspur realistically only needing one more point to win the battle for English Premier League survival, while Bruno Fernandes made history in Manchester United’s 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest. Spurs can avoid dropping out of the English top flight for the first time in nearly 50 years with victory at Chelsea today, but a draw would also likely suffice thanks to their much superior goal-difference over West Ham. “Overall bad performance. Too many things [went wrong], I think we gifted them the goals,” West Ham head caoch Nuno Espirito Santo
MLB is experiencing an epidemic of guys being dudes. At ballparks all across the US, groups consisting of mostly young men are joining in on the “Tarps Off” trend that is loud, goofy, infectious and new to the baseball world. Joining in on the fun is simple: Go to the section where the party is happening, take off your shirt and start twirling it above your head. Soccer-like chants or singing usually follow — injecting a jolt of energy for a sport that is occasionally chided for its lack of energy inside the stadium. After getting its start in St Louis, Missouri, on
RSS