Root Ready To Take Off Shackles To Claim World Cup Glory

Chris Stocks sits down with England Test captain Joe Root and gets his thoughts on how the one-day side are handling their tag as World Cup favourites

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Joe Root’s timing is usually faultless so it’s surprising to hear him admit he missed the call from national selector Ed Smith on Monday that informed him of his place in England’s World Cup squad. Unlike some other players, Root, one of the best batsmen of his generation and the rock at No3 in this one-day side, was never in danger of missing the tournament.

However, now the formalities have been taken care of, the Yorkshireman is just desperate to get a huge summer of cricket, that also includes a home Ashes series, off and running with next Thursday’s opening World Cup match against South Africa.

“I had to ring him back I was busy,” Root said of Smith’s call. “It’s always nice to get the nod. It’s nice to feel it’s finally upon us and we’re not waiting around for it any more. We can just get to it and start what feels like an incredibly exciting summer.

“We’ve felt like we’ve been building towards something and I think we’ve done extremely well. We’ve made the most of every opportunity we’ve had leading into this tournament, prepared very well and deserve the tag of favourites going into it.

“We should embrace that, make the most of it, enjoy it and continue to play in the same manner we have done now for the last two years because when we are at our best we’re a very difficult side to beat and to play against.”

After sweeping aside Pakistan 4-0 to collect their 10th ODI series win in 11, England’s final tune-up before the World Cup sees them play two warm-up games – against Australia at Southampton tomorrow and Afghanistan at The Oval on Monday.