Joe Root says England are targeting becoming the No 1 team in the world following a crushing innings-and-53 run win in the third Test against South Africa.
This victory in Port Elizabeth was the first time England had won an overseas Test by an innings since beating Australia at Sydney in January 2011. That team, led by Andrew Strauss, went on to reach No 1 in the Test rankings later that year.
This England side are some way off emulating that feat and their immediate priority will be wrapping up only a second away Test series win in four years when they head to Johannesburg with a 2-1 lead for this week’s fourth and final match. However, Root knows this latest success, coming straight after their hard-earned win at Cape Town, offers further evidence England are heading in the right direction in Test cricket after years of inconsistent results.
Asked about getting to the top of the Test rankings, the England captain said: “That’s the journey we’re on. That’s what we’re planning to be. But it’s not going to happen overnight, there’s going to be bumps in the road. As long as the group is willing to learn and put the work in time and time again – doing the things that aren’t necessarily the most flattering, the quite difficult things to do in Test cricket [we’ll be fine].
“That’s why we won the game in Cape Town, because throughout that whole last session, at no stage did we not think we’re going to win that Test. Everyone put in a shift, everyone was diving around in the field, making sure when those chances came we were ready.
“That’s the sort of attitude you need consistently if you want to keep improving and want to get to No 1 in the world. If we can harness that like we did this week, then we’ll start to be more consistent.”
England will move up to fourth in rankings, behind New Zealand, Australia and top-placed India, with victory in the final Test that starts at the Wanderers on Friday. Yet they are third in the newly-formed World Test Championship and convincing wins in their next three series – away in Sri Lanka in March and at home to West Indies and Pakistan next summer – will close the gap on the top two in that table – again India and Australia. If they do finish in the top two by the summer of 2021 they will play in the inaugural Test Championship final which is expected to be at Lord’s.
“We’ve got a really clear way of how we’re trying to play the game,” said Root. “There are a number of things we’ve looked to address and improve on, and we’re starting to see signs of that now. If that can continue then we’ll continue to see good results, I’m sure.”
Root was also pleased with the contribution of Mark Wood, the injury-plagued fast bowler who took three wickets in his first Test appearance in 11 months. “You look at his statistics and they don’t necessarily make you turn your head,” he said. “But watch when he bowls – the amount of wickets that fall at the other end, he’s a brilliant partnership bowler.”
With Jofra Archer expected to recover from the elbow injury that has ruled him out of the past two Tests, England could pair him with Wood at the Wanderers, giving them the tantalising prospect of two 90-miles-per-hour-plus bowlers on one of the quickest pitches in the world. “It would be great to see Jofra back firing and at his best,” said Root. “We have a couple more days to make sure he is fully fit and ready to go.”
South Africa will be missing Kagiso Rabada for that match after he picked up a fourth demerit point – triggering a one-match ban – for the excessive celebration of Root’s wicket in England’s first innings.
The ICC found Rabada guilty of acting in a way that could “provoke an aggressive reaction” from the batsman. “No I don’t have any issue,” said Root. “He was quite close to me and a decision was made that he was out of order. My only concern was making sure I didn’t get into trouble reacting to it. Thankfully I held my tongue, waited patiently until he’d finished and walked off.”