Sri Lanka vs England 2018: Joe Root Eyes Number One Rank in Test
Nov 19, 2018 at 3:18 PM
England captain Joe Root is targetting the number one rank in the ICC Test rankings. The England team is currently at the third place in the ICC Test rankings. Meanwhile, the English side has already taken an impregnable lead of 2-0 in the ongoing three-match Test series against Sri Lanka. Thus, England is all set to leapfrog South Africa to take the second place in the rankings irrespective of the third Test match result.
Meanwhile, England is still far away from the pinnacle of the table. India currently occupies the numero uno position in the rankings with 116 rating points whereas England has 105 points under their belt. In fact, after the completion of Sri Lanka and England series, Joe Root side will add points to their tally.
England will take the second place.
England was able to win against India by 4-1 at their home and they ended their 17 years drought of a series win in Sri Lanka.
Joe Root said while talking to Sky Sports, “We have to keep looking to improve. We don’t want to stand still – we have seen this group grow in the last six to eight months but we are not the finished article.
“We want to get to No 1 in the world at some point and we are going to have to be really consistent in all parts of the world to do that. If we keep the same attitude, drive and competition for places we will give ourselves a really good chance of getting what we want. I couldn’t be more proud of the guys.”
Meanwhile, Joe Root had played a captain’s knock in the second innings of the second Test as he had scored 124. Root was also awarded the Man of the match for his fine knock.
On the other hand, England had left out Stuart Broad and Jonny Bairstow in the second Test match. Thus, the tourists came with the best playing XI according to the conditions.
“Look at the guys we’ve got on the sidelines. We’ve got some very exciting young players and a lot of experience, and for Stuart Broad [and Bairstow] to have no played a part in this series shows the strength of the squad, and the adaptability as well.”
The third Test match will take place in Colombo from Friday.