Joe Root Backs His Record After England Clinch Pakistan Series

England captain Joe Root has played down concerns over his recent batting returns after his team completed a Test series victory against Pakistan. England won the second Test at Lord's by 194 runs, giving Root a second victory in as many matches since beginning his second spell as captain and securing the country's first series win since 2024.

Watch the highlights:

Root has passed 50 only twice during the home summer and is averaging 29.44, his second-lowest home-season figure across a 14-year international career. BBC Sport reported that the 35-year-old has been dismissed leg before wicket nine times in his past seven Tests, including seven lbw dismissals this summer.

Despite that pattern, Root said he was not too concerned and pointed to his long record of finding solutions at Test level. England's all-time leading Test run-scorer has amassed 14,208 runs, a total bettered only by India's Sachin Tendulkar. Root said he would continue working to improve and expected to come through the difficult spell.

The recent dismissals have largely followed a specific method. According to BBC Sport's analysis, Root has repeatedly been troubled by right-arm pace bowlers pitching outside off stump and moving the ball back into him. None of the nine lbw dismissals in the current sequence came against bowlers operating at extreme pace, with the fastest reaching about 84mph.

Root also cited demanding batting conditions in Britain and said the ball had deviated significantly this summer. He suggested that Dukes balls had behaved differently and believed the lacquer may have changed because of concerns over balls losing their shape. Dukes denied making any alteration to its manufacturing process when contacted by the BBC.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan backed Root to address the technical problem, noting that he has overcome other challenges during his career. Root's immediate result as captain was already positive despite the absence of a major personal score: England's commanding win at Lord's completed the series victory and maintained his perfect start since returning to the leadership role.