Joe Root makes a phone call to England die-hard fan who waited for 10 months in Sri Lanka

England managed to trump Sri Lanka in a stunning fashion by 7 wickets in the first Test of the two-match series at Galle International Stadium to register their fourth consecutive Test win in the island nation. Apart from the outstanding performance shelled out by the visiting team both with the bat and the ball, the Test match was in the news for the dedication and love shown by a cricket enthusiast Rob Lewis towards the English players.

Lewis waited for as many as ten months in the island nation to watch England lock horns against Sri Lanka in the Test series. Despite the wait, the England fan wasn’t allowed in the stadium due to the bio-bubble. However, he somehow managed to convince the authorities and witnessed the whole game from another area of the fort further from the ground, but still with a view of the game.

All the hardships faced by the England-based web designer over the past year didn’t go in vain as the England Test captain Joe Root acknowledged Rob for supporting the team and cheering for them whole-heartedly. As soon as England registered a victory over Sri Lanka, the management arranged a phone call between Root and Rob where the skipper expressed his gratitude on behalf of the whole English squad.

ECB shares a video of Rob Lewis sharing a fan-moment with Joe Root

“It was nice to see you finally up on the Fort. Mate, it’s an absolute pleasure. That’s why I wanted to come over on behalf of all the lads. We really appreciate your support. It’s an incredible story and journey that you’ve been on over the last year or so. So more than anything I wanted to say a massive thank you. We really appreciate you being here and making the effort to come down and support us,” Root said to Lewis while on call.

“It’s a real pleasure for us to be able to enjoy this with you, so thank you very much, mate. It’s nice to be able to celebrate together a win here in Sri Lanka. I’m glad you’ve enjoyed it. We’ve certainly enjoyed you being there supporting us signing your heart out as well, so look forward to more of it on Friday.

“We really appreciate it mate. It’s an amazing effort so thank you very much. Enjoy the rest of your day and get Randy Caddick on it and celebrate hard. Cheers Rob, thanks a lot mate,” he added.

The adorable video of the two conversing on phone was shared by the official Twitter handle of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)

Five days graft for the lads 💪

Ten-month wait for a super fan 👏

One very important phone call…@Root66 📲 @elitebandwagon pic.twitter.com/fu1ir1hgwg

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) January 18, 2021