"The best feeling is winning matches for England" - Joe Root reflects on his match-winning knock vs NZ at Lord's

Joe Root played a match-winning knock in the first Test vs NZ at Lord's (Credit: Getty Images)

Former England captain Joe Root had a remarkable outing in the first Test against New Zealand at Lord's last week.

The 30-year-old scored an unbeaten 115 as the hosts chased down 277 runs against a hostile Kiwi bowling attack to go 1-0 up in the three-match series. Root also became the second English batter to scale 10000 Test runs after Alastair Cook.

Looking back at the memorable Test match, the Yorkshire batter thanked fans for all their good wishes. Taking to Twitter, Joe Root wrote:

"A very special week for me and my family but the best feeling is winning matches for England. Thanks for all the messages, looking forward to Trent Bridge."

A very special week for me and my family but the best feeling is winning matches for England. Thanks for all the messages, looking forward to Trent Bridge 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏏 https://t.co/EN0rgUFM5Q

Root was under the pump coming into this Test match after England failed to perform to their potential in the last few months. They lost the Ashes series followed by a drubbing against the West Indies.

The talismanic run-scorer was also relieved of his captaincy duties. While there was a lot of noise about his own form, Root silenced the critics with his superlative knock that helped England begin their home summer with a win.

The right-hander batted for 328 minutes and revived England from another debacle. He forged two significant partnerships with Ben Stokes and Ben Foakes to take the team over the line.

"He is a pleasure to watch" - Alastair Cook on Joe Root

Root made his Test debut under Alastair Cook in 2012 (Credit: Getty Images)

Former England captain Cook has, meanwhile, showered praise on Root, calling him the most complete English batter ever.

Speaking on BBC Sport, the southpaw said:

“He is a pleasure to watch, the most complete England batsman I have seen. The person who could play the most incredible innings was Kevin Pietersen, but for the most complete batsmen in all three forms, it’s Root. His consistency is incredible."

Most Test runs since Root's debut

10,015: Joe Root
7751: Steve Smith
7255: Virat Kohli
6957: David Warner
6242: Kane Williamson

#ENGvNZ #JoeRoot

Joe Root will hope to continue the momentum going into the second Test at Nottingham, which starts on June 10.