Watch- Joe Root shows Nasser Hussain his place in front of him

Former England skipper Joe Root humorously said that he had to channel his "inner Nasser Hussain" in challenging batting conditions during England's first Test against Sri Lanka.

Joe Root's comments came after he played a crucial role in guiding England to a five-wicket win on day four of the match.

The England cricket team started the three-match Test series against Sri Lanka on a winning note.

England successfully chased down a 205-run target in the fourth innings at the Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester on Saturday, August 24. Joe Root scored an unbeaten half-century during the run chase.

Root scored an unbeaten 62 runs off 128 balls with the help of only two boundaries. The home team struggled to 119-4 before Root and Jamie Smith's 64-run partnership.

Root employed a more cautious strategy, unlike England's 'Bazball' approach under Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum.

Still Ahead Of Your Career Strike-Rate - Nasser Hussain

Speaking to Nasser Hussain and Ian Ward on Sky Sports, Joe Root joked about his cautious batting approach during England's second innings. Root said that his strike rate is still ahead of Hussain's. The batter said that he had to adopt a more patient approach in challenging conditions.

"I had to channel my inner Hussain, I reckon," Root joked when interviewed alongside Hussain for Sky Sports.

"I'm still ahead of your career strike rate, but it was a tricky one today. It was a long, slow, hard grind but we got there in the end.

"I had to channel my inner Hussain!" 😂

Joe Root on his performance against Sri Lanka. pic.twitter.com/XRggii3coC

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) August 24, 2024

Joe Root (64) became the English player with the most fifties in Test cricket. Overall, the right-handed batter is in third place in the history of Test cricket. India's Sachin Tendulkar leads with 68 fifties, followed by former West Indies batter Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who has 66 fifties to his name.

All Calling Me Geoff Boycott - Joe Root

The 33-year-old cricketer said that his England teammates were now calling him "Geoff" in the dressing room, about legendary cricketer Geoff Boycott. Root acknowledged the need to "win ugly" sometimes in challenging conditions for batters.

"The lads are all calling me Geoff [Boycott] upstairs," Root further stated.

"Hopefully it is a one-off thing. Sometimes you have to win ugly, and we have still won with a day to go, so we are still sticking by the principles we want to live by and we are evolving as a team.

"I actually feel like, playing Sri Lanka, these are as close to Sri Lankan conditions as you are going to get in England, so for us to manage that well and close it out is a really good step forward for us."

The Ollie Pope-led team moved to fourth place in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 points table. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, dropped to fifth place in the WTC standings. The second Test will be played at Lord's in London, starting on Thursday, August 29.

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