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'Continuation Of Stuff Happened Before': Joe Root Credits McCullum, Stokes After 3-0 Sweep

Joe Root: England captain Joe Root credited former coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes for laying the foundation for the teams success after England completed a 3-0 Test series sweep against Pakistan at Edgbaston on Saturday. Root, who returned to the captaincy for the series, said Englands dominant run was a continuation of the work done by McCullum and Stokes, who transformed the teams approach during their tenure. I dont think we would have been able to play in the manner that we have without the work that Brendon (McCullum) did as coach and Ben (Stokes) as captain. And I think its a continuation and a small evolution of all the stuff that happened before this, Root said after Englands eight-wicket win in Birmingham. So that has to continue forward, and well continue to keep trying to evolve that and improve on whats been a really good summer here, he added. England chased down 130 with ease in the final innings after Pakistan had put up their strongest batting performance of the series in the second innings, scoring 449. Root remained unbeaten on 62, and Jordan Cox made 59 as the pair shared an unbroken 128-run partnership to take England over the line after Mohammad Abbas had given Pakistan some hope with early wickets. Root said Englands ability to deal with pressure and uncertainty throughout the series was particularly pleasing. Weve had things go our own way a little bit throughout the series, and we had a little bit of pushback yesterday, which was, in a strange way, quite a good thing for the group, he said. But for us to come through it and be so convincing in the way that weve finished the series off, and throughout the whole three games really, has been really pleasing, he added. Pakistans second-innings fight was led by debutant Razaullah, who smashed 81 off 63 balls with nine sixes, while Shan Masood scored 95, Babar Azam made 76 and Azam Awais contributed 59. Root admitted England had little information about Razaullah before the match but praised the youngster for making life difficult for the hosts. He played some wonderful shots, made it quite difficult to set fields to, and struck the ball nicely. I dont know how hes not pulled a side really; hes swinging that hard. But fair play, he played nicely and made it difficult for us, Root said. The England captain also praised stand-in coach Marcus Trescothick for his contribution during the series, saying he had balanced his short-term role with preparing the team for the future. He played some wonderful shots, made it quite difficult to set fields to, and struck the ball nicely. I dont know how hes not pulled a side really; hes swinging that hard. But fair play, he played nicely and made it difficult for us, Root said. Also Read: Special Cricket Stories Roots comments came after England sealed their first-ever home Test series whitewash over Pakistan, ending the three-match series with a perfect 3-0 record. Article Source: IANS