Joe Root makes honest confession on Ben Stokes' marathon spell during ENG vs IND 3rd Test at Lord's

The former England captain, Joe Root, admits that he was ‘panicking’ when the current captain of the Test side, Ben Stokes, went through a marathon spell of 9.2 overs against India during the third Test of the five-match series at Lord’s. However, he felt that it was a great sign for the national team moving forward. Root informed how Ben denied his words of coming out of the attack.

Ben Stokes did everything a player could do at Lord’s. In the first innings, he smashed 44 runs in 110 balls during an 88-run stand with Root before running Rishabh Pant out of the crease in the second innings of the game to seize India’s control. In the third innings, the southpaw clubbed 33 runs in 96 balls before ending with figures of 3/48 in 24 overs.

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‘He doesn't always listen to me. He knows what he's doing, and he's got a good handle on where he's at physically. It was an incredible effort. He's just desperate to be the man and make things happen, and it was an incredible effort to be able to do that.’ Root expressed during a recent interaction with the BBC.

Joe Root admits ‘panicking’ after Ben Stokes’ marathon spell during Eng vs Ind Lord’s Test

On the opening day of the fixture, Stokes was struggling with an injury, as Ollie Pope revealed how the management remained confident of the all-rounder making a comeback on the second day. At the end of the day, the Durham all-rounder suggested that it was the ‘toughest’ of the dark places he had on his body during the red-ball career.

‘I was just panicking that he wasn't going to make it through the game after a couple of bad injuries, but he trusts his body now. It's a great sign for us moving forward. I mean it isn't it, because that's back to his best.’ Root expressed.

Thanks to Root’s century, England was able to put a huge score on the board in the first innings, while the record century to go past Rahul Dravid in the all-time list also pushed him to reclaim the top Test batter spot that he lost to Harry Brook last week.