Joe Root’s message to England after Pakistan series win: Keep the celebrations sensible

Captain Joe Root has urged England to celebrate their Test series win over Pakistan in a “sensible and grown-up way” after securing their first multi-match series win since 2024.

England beat Pakistan at Lord’s to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, giving Ben Stokes’ side a much-needed boost after a difficult spell.

Root believes the players should enjoy the success but avoid the off-field controversies that have followed some of England’s recent celebrations. “It’s important that we don’t talk about (off-field matters), absolutely,” Root said. “But it’s hard to win Test matches, it’s hard to win Test series, so enjoy it and celebrate it, but in a sensible and grown-up way.

“It’s been a really good start, I don’t know what you want to call it, this new team. England’s recent celebrations have been overshadowed by controversy at times and Root would like to focus on their performances on the field.

ENGLAND VS PAKISTAN 2ND TEST DAY 4 HIGHLIGHTS

The series win is a welcome result for Root personally after a tough summer with the bat. He averages 29.44 after nine innings, well below his career Test average of 50.38, and has been dismissed lbw seven times, including twice in the Lord’s Test.

However, the former England captain remains confident that a big score is around the corner.

“I’ve always been pretty good at understanding and ultimately solving problems,” Root said. “I will continue to work hard.

“I may have been lbw a couple of times, but a lot of them were umpires’ calls. If they go the other way, it might not matter as much.

“We’ve also seen the ball move more than ever before. So there’s got to be a calmness and realism around things. I know I’m a good player and I’d like to think there’s a big score around the corner.”

Root also defended England’s batting after another difficult outing at Lord’s, describing the pitch as “naughty” while pointing to the Dukes’ balls as another factor in the tough batting conditions.

He said the balls seemed to have a different varnish and cause more damage to bats while leaving more impact on the pitch.

“I think they’ve been very different this year,” Root said. “I think they’ve got a different varnish. I don’t know, I don’t have proof of it—you’ll have to ask Dukes, I guess—but I think there’s varnish on the seam.”

“Like a batter, when you practice, they hit your bats more often. And they seem a lot stronger.”

“I think they affect the goals as well. I think they dent more. If they dent the goal, it also comes off the dents, it moves more. It was challenging.”

Root acknowledged that part of the challenge of Test cricket is the difficult conditions, especially when cloudy weather, rain and off-field movement combine.

“Sometimes you come across a summer where it’s a perfect storm: it’s cloudy, it’s raining a little bit, the balls are a little different,” he said. “But that’s part of the challenge of Test cricket, being able to adapt.

Pakistan pacer Mohammad Abbas admitted that the team was disappointed with their performance but felt that there was an improvement compared to the first Test.

“We were much better in this match than in the first Test,” Abbas said. “You can see that over time we are getting used to the conditions and everything is improving.

“We are not doing well as a team. But we are working on it. The next game is in Birmingham and hopefully the victory will come.”

– The end

Issued by:

Saurabh Kumar

Published on:

31 Aug 2026 09:04 IST