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.”
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