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Cricket Players‘Disrespectful to Pakistan and us’: Joe Root hits back at ‘no fight’ narrative ahead of third Test
Joe Root rejected suggestions Pakistan have shown no fight in the series, calling the criticism disrespectful and warning England ahead of the third Test.
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Pakistan have been comprehensively outplayed by England in the opening two Tests of the series, leaving them 2-0 down and facing the prospect of a whitewash heading into the third and final Test. The one-sided nature of the contests has inevitably brought criticism of the visitors, with questions being raised over whether Pakistan have shown enough fight against an England side that has controlled large parts of the series.
Joe Root, however, has strongly rejected that assessment. Speaking ahead of the third Test, the England captain insisted Pakistan had presented his team with challenges and suggested that simply portraying the series as one side playing well and the other playing poorly was an unfair interpretation of what had happened. Root was particularly firm when the suggestion was put to him that Pakistan had offered little resistance during the series.
Joe Root defends Pakistan amid criticism
“Absolutely, we have found a challenge. I think that's a bit disrespectful to both Pakistan as a team and to us as a team. I don't think we've allowed them to get into games because of how well we've played as well and how quickly we've read the situations and the surfaces that we've had,” Root said.
Deep Dive
England have repeatedly managed to take control before Pakistan have been able to establish themselves in matches, and Root believes that should be viewed as a reflection of England’s execution rather than simply a lack of competitiveness from the opposition. He argued that assessments of heavily one-sided matches can often become too simplistic, particularly when the quality produced by the winning team is overlooked.
“I think it's very easy to say one team is excellent and one team is poor. Normally, it's somewhere in the middle. If one team has been outstanding, then the other team can't have been poor and vice versa. I think it's important to live in that middle area somewhere and understand that that's not how it is,” Root added.
Despite England already having secured the series, Root is also refusing to view the final Test as a straightforward extension of what happened in the opening two matches. Pakistan head into the contest under considerable pressure and with changes around the side, but Root warned England that the visitors still possess enough quality to produce a very different performance. “Regardless of what's happened over the last two games, this week it's a completely different proposition for us. There's a very talented group of players in that dressing room, and you've got to be ready for it, so we'll make sure that we are.”
England will now look to complete a clean sweep, while Pakistan have one final opportunity to respond to the criticism surrounding their performances and avoid ending the series without a victory.
