"It was almost like Joe was 18 again" - Ben Stokes on his teammate's match-winning hundred at Lord's
England Test captain Ben Stokes feels relieved to see Joe Root enjoy his game, with the captaincy responsibilities off his shoulders. The all-rounder, Root's successor, said it felt like the right-handed batter had turned 18 again.
Root's 26th hundred at Lord's in the first Test against New Zealand proved instrumental in England's victory as they took a 1-0 lead. The 31-year old also crossed 10000 Test runs and in the process, became the second England batter to do so.
for @root66 and his first in the 4th innings 
A 26th Test 💯 for @root66 and his first in the 4th innings 👏
No more words 🐐
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Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of the second Test, which starts on Friday, Stokes said he was part of Root's journey and had some conversations about his captaincy struggles during some tours. However, the 30-year old stated that without the added responsibility, Root has become significantly younger.
"I went through that whole ride with Joe, especially over the last two years. We had some private conversations on tours away around that kind of stuff. This week, without that added pressure of being captain, it was almost like Joe was 18 again. And I'm pretty sure it won't be long till he's snipping people's socks again."
He added:
"It's great to see Joe the way that he is. It's great that he doesn't have that mountain of added pressure of being captain on his shoulders. And the one thing Joe always does is score runs."
Root stepped down as captain after the Caribbean tour this year as England sustained another Test series loss under him. Although the Yorkshire batter scored heavily in 2021, the English team suffered a string of losses in red-ball cricket both at home and away.
"It's great to come in here with the confidence of winning the first game of the summer" - Ben Stokes
Stokes further claimed that even though they beat New Zealand in the opening Test, he realizes they face a challenge this week and can't get too far ahead. In this regard, the 30-year old added:
"It's great to come in here with the confidence of winning the first game of the summer, but we've got to obviously park that this week, it's a new game. We know that every time we go up against New Zealand it's never an easy ride, the game always tends to go down to the wire. No team really seems to get too far ahead of the other. We know we're going to be in for another tough week against them."
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The English captain scored a match-winning half-century in the second innings of the first Test. He will aim to continue that form in Nottingham.