ICC World Twenty20: Joe Root says England ready for 'must-win' Sri Lanka game
Saturday 26 March 2016 13:54, UK
Joe Root says England are raring to go in their 'must-win' clash against Sri Lanka on Saturday at the World Twenty20.
Defeat in their opening fixture against the West Indies put them on the back foot from the off, making every remaining fixture crucial.
The West Indies are through to the semi-finals after their victory over South Africa on Friday, and England will join them if they beat Sri Lanka.
"There is always pressure to perform. We know it's a must-win game but it's been like that since we got here," Root said of the match, which will be shown live on Sky Sports 2 from 1.30pm.
"For us it's ultimately about winning our game. That's all we can worry about because that's the only way we're going to be able to qualify.
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"You can only really afford to lose one game and even then you can still crash out of the competition. It's T20. It's a complete knockout from here on in if we want to win it.
"The pressure is no more than it has been since that second game. It's all about getting over the line."
To achieve that England know they must improve on Wednesday's display against Afghanistan.
Although a humbling defeat was averted, the Afghan spinners made short work of England's top six, leaving serious questions over their reading of conditions.
Sri Lanka have a strong spin line-up of their own to unleash at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, led by the venerable left-armer Rangana Herath, and Root knows the trial by turn is one his side must combat better.
"It's about learning from the mistakes we made last time in case we are on a similar pitch and face a similar attack with a lot of spin," he assessed.
"Everyone has their own way of playing spin, there's no right or wrong way, but for me it's about trying to face as few dot balls as possible and trying to cash in with the boundaries when they are available.
"Every surface is different so it is about giving yourself the best chance on that particular pitch. Sometimes you might need to take a few extra balls to get accustomed to it but ultimately it is about playing the situation in front of you.
"You still want to keep that intent but there's other ways of scoring quickly. Maybe you score down the ground a bit more, maybe knock it into gaps and look for twos.
"It's about communicating that with the guy at the other end, watching the game if you're coming in to bat and doing what you need to do to put a big score on the board or chase one down."
Alex Hales missed out against Afghanistan with a sore back but returned to training on Friday, even taking part in the traditional football match before nets.
That bodes well for his likely involvement, at the expense of James Vince, but the opener will face a fitness test in the morning.
"He has improved," said Root on Hales. "We will get a good idea from how he will be on Saturday, but it is going to be important making sure he is absolutely ready. If not we have a strong squad and I am sure someone will fill in for him."
