Joe Root admits he has been left thoroughly astounded at the support from crowds across the country, and praised England’s “12 fielders” for bringing the urn home this week.
While Root and his team-mates battled to emphatically beat Australia and regain the Ashes, the fans have ensured full houses were there to witness every high and low en-route to glory.
Victory in Cardiff was followed by defeat at Lord’s and then by two superb triumphs at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge respectively. It was all done with packed crowds and those in spirit – and social media technology – keeping track.
England head into the final Investec Test at the Kia Oval with an unassailable 3-1 series lead, and Root said the backing from all corners could never be thanked enough.
“It’s like having 12 fielders on the pitch at times,” he told ecb.co.uk. “The fans have been outstanding. At Cardiff, it set the tone, and then for three games…
“Here (at Trent Bridge) it’s been outstanding. The noise at Edgbaston was just electric; it was amazing.
“It’s been great how everyone has come and watched and got behind this team. We can’t thank the support enough.
“Absolutely everyone that’s watched and tweeted in, and whatever social media it’s been on. The support has been outstanding.”
Root is ready to give out the perfect response to the support at the Kia Oval, where action kicks off on August 20.
Alongside the support, Root has also been taken aback by the manner of England’s victories so far, as neither of the SSE SWALEC, Edgbaston or Trent Bridge saw the match last the full five days.
Carrying that form into the Oval is one of the main priorities now, with Root saying: “They (Australia) are a class side and it shows how well we’ve played. whether with bat or ball.
“We’ve put in some really good performances. I think this group of players needs to take a lot of credit for that. We have to do the same at the Oval.”
On a personal note, Root is also the proud owner of the number-spot in the International Cricket Council’s Test batting rankings.
It was little surprise considering he backed up his form from the New Zealand series to the Ashes, smashing a hundred and a half-century at Cardiff, a fifty at Edgbaston and then a ton in Nottingham.
Expressing his happiness, Root added: “That’s what you want to do, is contribute towards winning games of cricket and to be able to do that is why you play the game.
“You want to score runs for your country. It’s dream-come-true stuff for us.”
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