[Watch] Joe Root takes off Jack Leach's cap and rubs the ball on his head to shine it in Rawalpindi Test
England's senior player Joe Root tried a unique way to shine the red ball in the ongoing Rawalpindi Test match against Pakistan on Saturday (December 3). Root took his teammate Jack Leach's cap off and rubbed the ball on his head in a hilarious attempt to improve its shine.
The incident took place after the 72nd over of the Pakistan innings. Will Jacks completed his over, and Ollie Robinson came in to bowl the 73rd over. To ensure that Robinson got some swing, Root tried to shine the red ball.
Since the use of saliva is banned, Joe Root used the sweat on Jack Leach's head to shine the ball. Commentators Nasser Hussain and David Gower burst out in laughter on air while watching Root's unique tactic. Gower labeled it:
"Absolutely ingenious!"
Pakistan Cricket Board shared the video on their official Instagram page. You can watch the clip here:
Fans hilariously reacted to the video. In less than one hour, the clip has received close to 20,000 likes and 200 comments.
Some fans laughed at Nasser Hussain's commentary as he said, "Don't look in my direction," when David Gower looked at his head. Meanwhile, some fans even gave named this tactic from Root as 'bald tampering'.
Joe Root has bowled 12 overs in the Rawalpindi Test so far
The flat track at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium has been nightmarish for the bowlers so far. England posted a mammoth 657-run total in their first innings. Pakistan are currently 298/3 in their first innings, with captain Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel batting in the middle.
England captain Ben Stokes has used six bowlers so far, with one of them being Joe Root. The off-spinner has bowled 12 overs, conceding 38 runs at an economy rate of 3.2. You can follow the live scorecard of this match right here.