Alex Lees’ attacking half-century and his 107-run opening stand with Zak Crawley put England in a strong position against India at the end of Day 4.
England opener Alex Lees joked that ex-England skipper Joe Root owed him one of his centuries after getting run out by the former captain. The left-handed batter looked good for his 56 off 65 balls against India in the fourth innings at Edgbaston, where the hosts were chasing a record 378 runs.
Alex Lees Was Run Out After Scoring 56
Alex Lees alongside Zak Crawley took charge and showed positive intent to thwart the Indian attack which was on song in the first innings. Alex Lees looked well set for a century, batting at a strike rate which was close to 90s, but lost his wicket via a run-out.
He inside-edged a Ravindra Jadeja delivery to short fine leg and started running to the other end when he saw Joe Root rushing towards him. The respect paid to his former England captain’s call cost him as he could not reach the non-striker’s end in time. Ravindra Jadeja picked up the throw from Mohammed Shami and dismantled the stumps.
Alex Lees Jokingly Said That Joe Root Could Lend Him One Of His Test Tons
Speaking in the press conference at the end of the day’s play, Alex Lees said that it was a horrible feeling to get run out that way and hoped that Joe Root can get the job done on the final day of the Test match.
“Yeah, I mean, he (Joe Root) could lend me one of his Test 100’s. He has got plenty of them. But no, yeah, I mean, I saw him briefly when he came off the field and, obviously, gutted. I think that, on a personal level, obviously being run-out in two innings now is, obviously, quite hard to take.”
“But the pleasing thing, for me, is that we are in an amazing position as a team and I have run-out people in my career – it is a horrible feeling. It is nothing that you obviously mean to do. So yeah, I mean, he (Joe Root) is a top guy and, hopefully, he will get the job done tomorrow (lead England to victory on Tuesday),” Lees said.
Knocks of Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow have kept India at bay on Day 5 of the rescheduled 5th Test match. Joe Root raced to his 28th Test hundred on Tuesday to pile misery on India in the rescheduled 5th Test match at Edgbaston in Birmingham. Jonny Bairstow too scored a ton, his 12th, as England won by 7 wickets and levelled the series 2-2. Joe Root remained unbeaten on 142 while Jonny Bairstow scored an unbeaten 114