England captain Joe Root has been speaking to the media on the eve of England’s third test against Pakistan at Edgbaston.
The hosts lead 2-0 after dominating both tests so far and will attempt to make it a clean sweep this week in Birmingham. Ahead of the test, plenty of accusations have been thrown the visitors’ way including the notion that they showed a lack of fight.
Pakistan raised eyebrows when they recently took the step of sending seven players plus their head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and assistant Umar Gul home.
Despite the apparent turmoil within the ranks of Pakistan, Root refused to criticise England’s opponents and insisted that it would be “disrespectful” to call into question their efforts.
“Absolutely we have found [Pakistan] a challenge,” Root told reporters.
“I think that’s a bit disrespectful to both Pakistan as a team and to us as a team. I don’t think we’ve allowed them to get into games because of how well we’ve played as well and how quickly we’ve read the situations and the surfaces that we’ve had.
“I think it’s very easy to say one team is excellent and one team is poor. Normally it’s somewhere in the middle. If one team has been outstanding then the other team can’t have been poor and vice versa. I think it’s important to live in that middle area somewhere and understand that that’s not how it is.
“Regardless of what’s happened over the last two games, this week it’s a completely different proposition for us. There’s a very talented group of players in that dressing room and you’ve got to be ready for it, so we’ll make sure that we are.”
Root also used the media engagement to discuss the recent appointment of Kevin Pietersen to the England coaching staff. Pietersen returns as what the ECB describe as a “specialist mentor” and he will start in the role for the upcoming T20 and one-day games against Sri Lanka. He will also be involved in this winter’s white ball tours to Australia and South Africa.
On the appointment, skipper Root added: “You want people to give their honest opinion. Why would you get him involved if you didn’t want him to tell you what he thinks and give his insight of the game.
“Kevin is very knowledgeable, he’s got a very good understanding of batting in particular and he’s got a huge amount of energy. I think he’s going to be great for the group.”
