Joe Root insists ‘it’s about doing it when it counts’ as England continued their preparations to the ICC World Twenty20 with a 14-run victory over a Mumbai XI.
The Yorkshire batsman top-scored with a 34-ball 48 as England recorded their second warm-up win over a Mumbai side which also consisted of Adil Rashid, Jos Buttler, David Willey, and James Vince, as all 15 members of Trevor Bayliss’ squad were given a run-out ahead of their Super 10 opener against West Indies on Wednesday.
With a number of valuable contributions from batsmen and bowlers, including a hat-trick from Willey, England have displayed their T20 credentials by adding to a double over New Zealand, but Root believes England must perform under pressure if they are to claim their first limited-overs title since 2010.
“I think our preparation has been good, we’ve worked extremely hard individually and as a team and when it’s come to games the guys have stepped up and performed under pressure,” he said.
“That’s exactly what we need if we are to be very successful at this tournament.
“Under pressure the bowlers performed very well at the death, but now it’s about doing it when it counts.
“The best thing is we’ve got these experiences to call on when the tournament starts and we’re actually under real pressure when it really matters.
“Fingers crossed the guys can take all that confidence forward into the group games.”
Root also held special praise for Chris Jordan, who has developed into England’s “closer” as well as one of their stand-out fielders.
The Sussex seamer proved his worth as a death bowler during a superb Super Over in England’s final T20 against Pakistan in November before being designated with the task of bowling the voluntary Super Over against New Zealand after their second warm-up victory over the Black Caps.
Jordan’s yorkers dismissed Vince and Buttler during Mumbai’ s run chase and Root highlighted the paceman’s cool under the spotlight.
“Chris has been fantastic,” Root added.
“He’s proven on a few occasions now that he can perform under real pressure. It’s about doing it consistently.
“We hope he can continue to do that and keep doing a really good job for us.”
With Root going up against some of his England peers, friendly sledging was a certainty and the Yorkshireman revealed Buttler was the loudest out of the quartet but was glad to be on the winning side.
“There were a few verbals around as you’d expect, mostly from Jos, but it was just good fun,” Root said.
“You’re always worried when Jos is at the crease. I’ve been on the back end of it a few times in county cricket but our bowlers did well.”
Source: ECB