Root happy to be glue that holds England’s batting line-up together

Joe Root is the glue that holds the finely-tuned England machine together and it’s a selfless role he’s more than happy to fulfil.

While the likes of Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes often provide the fireworks, Root will invariably steadily accumulate runs and bind the batting line-up together.

Even as Eoin Morgan took the headlines with his scintillating knock of 148 off 71 balls – including an ODI world record 17 sixes – in the 150-run victory over Afghanistan, Root was staying out of his way at the non-striker’s end, while making 88 from 82 balls himself.

The 28-year-old is almost flying under the radar at this ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup – a remarkable feat for someone who has already made two centuries and two further 50s in five matches – but he understands the importance of what he does.

“One of the reasons Eoin scored so quickly against Afghanistan was because I gave him the strike so much,” explained Root. “The reason I felt like I batted the whole innings and only ended on 88 was because I didn’t have much of the strike, which is exactly what you want in a situation like that.

“It can be hard sometimes – you look at the scoreboard and how someone is going and you think ‘I’ve got to get involved in this’ but you need to weigh it up and think what is best for the team.

“The guys you’re out there with have got to be comfortable with the way you’re playing and that it fits with the group.

“If you’re batting with someone and they’re under pressure because they feel you should be playing in a certain manner and you’re not – that’s not beneficial to the team.

“If you’re all on the same page and clear about how people will approach things, it will make life easier and you’re more likely to be consistent.

“That’s one of the reasons why we’ve been successful over the last couple of years because there’s a real understanding of how everyone should operate.”

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England made their highest score at a World Cup, 397/6, before restricting Afghanistan to just 247 in reply to chalk up a fourth win in five matches at the tournament.

Their chances of reaching the knockout stages will be further enhanced if they can beat Sri Lanka on Friday and Yorkshire star Root is excited about the opportunity to play the first game of the World Cup on home soil at Headingley.

“I’m looking forward to going up to Leeds and seeing the new stand full,” he added. “It should be a great spectacle for the city and the county – to have the opportunity to play a World Cup game there personally is very special.

“Hopefully we can continue the good nick we’re in as a side and add another win to this run but our form counts for nothing – you’ve got to go out there and start again.

“That’s the beauty of tournament cricket – you’re preparing slightly differently every game.

“It’s pleasing we’ve managed that well in this little period. It’s how well can we do it throughout the rest of the tournament now.”