Joe Root backs ‘always brilliant’ Pietersen to bring best out of England players

Joe Root has backed Kevin Pietersen to bring the best out of England’s players after the 46-year-old’s surprise appointment as a specialist mentor to the white-ball squad, saying he was “always brilliant” when the two played together towards the start of Root’s international career, a period in which he learned “a huge amount”.

Pietersen was in the team when Root made his Test debut as a 21-year-old in Nagpur in 2012, and the pair played alongside each other in 12 Tests in all before Pietersen was abruptly dropped in 2014. They also combined in nine ODIs, all in 2013.

“I’m probably the last player to have played with him still going,” Root said. “I really enjoyed him as a senior player, coming into the team. He was someone I’d be shadowing all the time. That first tour of India in particular, I would try to buddy up with him in the nets, watch how he practiced, watch how he did things, ask for advice. He was really open, really honest, very helpful. And if he can offer that kind of stuff in a coaching capacity as he did as a senior player, I think it’s really going to benefit us as a group.

“More than anything [he taught me] the importance of footwork, the ability to hit the ball against the spin, with the spin, understanding how that worked, the positions you might want to get yourself into, the ability to manipulate the field and manoeuvre the ball. You have to learn very quickly in those environments when they’re as extreme as they can be in India, and that was really beneficial.

“It was similar when we went to Australia, trying to get an understanding of how to play on those surfaces. He was always brilliant in terms of offering up all his thoughts, all his advice. I learned a huge amount from him.”

Pietersen was already a controversial figure when the pair played together, having spent a period out of the team for sending messages critical of England players and coaches to members of the South Africa squad in the summer of 2012, and since moving into punditry has continued to be provocative and outspoken, none of which Root perceives as disqualifying.

“You want people to give their honest opinion,” he said. “Why would you get him involved if you didn’t want him to tell you what he thinks and give his insight of the game. He’s very knowledgeable, he’s got a very good understanding of batting in particular and he’s got a huge amount of energy. I think he’s going to be great for the group.”

With the third and final Test against Pakistan starting at Edgbaston on Wednesday, Root said his most pressing concern is “making sure we’re ready for what they’re going to hit us with”. England are likely to face several unfamiliar opponents, with seven players having joined the touring squad – of which four have no previous international experience – since the second game at Lord’s. England have been assembling information, but for some players Root said “there’s not a lot out there”.

“Sometimes the hardest thing is not having a huge amount of information, but you’ve got to play what’s in front of you,” he added. “You go back 50 or 60 years, they didn’t have video footage then and the guys still found a way of figuring it out and understanding how they were going to take their wickets or score their runs. It’s part of the game, sometimes you don’t have all of that information to work from, you don’t have that luxury, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t go and deliver.”

Babar Azam, the Pakistan captain, said he too had been surprised by the call-ups – “It was news for me as well,” he said, adding that the Pakistan Cricket Board’s decisions “must have been made with some thought, it would be better if you ask them” – but added that with the series already decided his team now had a “golden opportunity” to express themselves with nothing but pride on the line.

“It’s an opportunity for us. We have lost the series, now there is nothing to lose. We can play with freedom,” he said. “We have faith in the team. We’ve been practicing for a couple of days, we’ve talked to each other a lot. Whenever young players come in, you can feel the excitement. Hopefully you will see better things in this match.”

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