"I had to make a statement": Joe Root says the century was a special round | sport

As good leaders, Joe Root practiced what he preached. Throughout this tour, Root promised a more aggressive approach to Sri Lanka's turning lanes and, when the situation became more difficult, his players did not abandon these ambitious plans. "We might have been tempted to enter our shell after a deficit after the first rounds," he said. "Yet it was the inexperienced men who were at the top of the order [Rory Burns and Keaton Jennings] who established the reference. It was very nice. "

The root soon followed them to the fold and he rarely beat with such brilliance. "As a captain, I had to make a statement and play that way." Otherwise, his promises – and his instructions – would seem hollow. "Whatever it is," he added, "I think this style of play suits our players."

Root's feet glittered along the runway, and from the start he was also ready to kneel and sweep the spinners. It was a joy to watch and, apparently, fun to do. "I had fun there," he said. "There were some dirty hacks. But I had different strategies for different bowlers. You must try to take advantage of the opportunity rather than feel the pressure and I think we have all done it. "

All drummers scanned although this does not come from any kind of team edits. "Individually, we must all exploit our strengths. Sometimes, on surfaces like this, sweeping is almost safer than advanced defense. Sometimes you are safer when you do it. In general, we have the right balance. And we practiced these throws and tried to expand our games. This gives the team a better opportunity to score on these surfaces. We went four or five years and even when we lost wickets in bunches, which happened several times. "

Root acknowledged that it was strange that so many points were scored in this test. "Maybe spinners can become too exciting when it turns so much; maybe we attacked too much [in the field] and were not patient enough. This can be a lesson for tomorrow [Saturday] and I like to think that we can create 10 chances on the ground. "

Regarding this century, the most sparkling and creative he produced in Cricket Test, Root said it was "special" before adding, "Well, it will be if we win this game . "