Ben Stokes backs Joe Root, says he has full support of the England camp

Joe Root, England cricketer has been going through some tough days being a skipper and also as a batsman. He was recently brought scrutiny following the innings-and-65-run defeat against New Zealand. The 28-year-old is having a tough time this year in red-ball cricket. Recently, he has been criticised by the former cricketers over his performance. But, now, Ben Stokes has come up taking a stance and backing his captain.

Root batting is averaging 39.70 as skipper but it has seen a sudden dip to 27.40 this year. In the recently concluded Test against New Zealand, he had scored 2 and 11 runs in the respective innings. It was one of the main reasons behind England loss in the first Test against the Kiwis. Moreover, it was also their eighth overseas defeat in last 14 games played in the longer format.

However, he holds a decent record in home conditions where the English side has won 14 games and lost only six Tests under his captaincy.

Ben Stokes opines on Joe Root’s recent form

Ben Stokes, the vice-admiral of Root in Tests said that being England skipper is not an easy task and also quoted it as one of the most criticized jobs in the country. He also added that it is the responsibility of all the players to take the blame for the defeat. According to him, Root is the best player of England but at the moment he is going through a lot of pressure.

“The pressures of being England Test captain are huge. It can be one of the most criticised jobs in England. Sometimes unfairly. There are 11 guys on the field that contribute to a win or loss. It doesn’t all fall on the captain. He’s England’s best player and he knows he has got the full support of us in the changing room,” Stokes told BBC’s Test Match Special.

He also added that players have to come up with a reason behind their bad performance and in recent times. Root has been brought under the scanner on numerous occasions. But as a group, everyone is intact and will motivate him to come up with stronger and convincing performance in the near future.

“We put our hands up as players when we don’t perform as well and unfortunately Joe cops most of that. But as a playing group, we stick together and we hold our hands up together,” he added.

Now, England will play the last game of the two-match Test series at Seddon Park in Hamilton. This will also be an important match from the perspective of Joe Root and Co as they are currently lagging in the series by 1-0.

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