Root and England to weigh risk of playing Anderson and Robinson in must-win final Test

England
head
into
the
fifth
Test
at
Old
Trafford
2-1
down
in
the
series
after
India
produced
another
stirring
comeback
to
prevail
by
157
runs
at
The
Oval.

It
puts
Root
in
the
unenviable
position
of
having
to
measure
the
risk
against
the
potential
reward
of
salvaging
the
series,
with
Anderson
and
Robinson
having
taken
on
the
majority
of
the
workload
in
the
attack.

The
absence
of
all-rounder
Ben
Stokes,
who
is
taking
time
away
from
the
game
to
focus
on
his
mental
health,
and
the
injured
Jofra
Archer,
as
well
as
fitness
issues
for
Mark
Wood,
has
led
to
Anderson
(163.3)
and
Robinson
(166.2)
bowling
329.5
overs
between
them.

Robinson
is
the
leading
wicket-taker
in
the
series
with
21
while
Anderson
has
been
similarly
impressive,
claiming
15
dismissals,
but
the
latter
is
39
and
management
of
his
playing
time
is
key
with
The
Ashes
coming
in
Australia
in
December.

Root,
who
confirmed
that
Jos
Buttler
would
return
as
his
vice-captain
and
keep
wicket
after
missing
the
fourth
Test
for
the
birth
of
his
second
child,
and
the
selectors
have
yet
to
come
to
a
decision
on
the
make-up
of
the
attack.

Happy
birthday

@josbuttler!pic.twitter.com/YYAlKAKrHo

—
England
Cricket
(@englandcricket)

September
8,
2021

“That’s
something
that
we
will
weigh
up
over
the
next
couple
of
days,
these
two
days
are
really
important
for
recovery,
making
sure
they’re
in
a
position
to
play
Test
cricket,”
he
told
a
media
conference.

“You
have
to
trust
the
medical
advice
that’s
been
given
and
also
speak
to
the
players
as
well,
they
know
their
own
bodies
better
than
anyone
else.

“You
never
want
to
go
into
a
Test
match
putting
someone
under
risk
of
injury,
you
want
to
make
sure
you
do
the
best
thing
for
a
player
but
you
also
you
don’t
want
to
go
into
a
Test
match,
have
someone
go
down
injured
and
you’ve
one
less
bowler
at
your
disposal.

“There
are
a
number
of
things
to
factor
in,
we’ll
make
sure
we
feel
very
confident
that
everyone
is
fit
to
take
the
field
and
put
in
a
Test-worthy
performance
when
it
comes
round
to
selecting
a
team
for
this
game.”

While
Robinson
and
Anderson
have
excelled
with
the
ball,
Root
has
been
the
sole
standout
with
the
bat
for
England,
racking
up
564
runs
including
three
hundreds
in
a
sparkling
series
for
the
world’s
number
one
Test
batsman.

Though
openers
Rory
Burns
and
Haseeb
Hameed
have
each
scored
a
pair
of
half-centuries,
no
other
player
in
the
side
has
a
ton
this
series,
with
Root
believing
clarity
of
thought
is
key
to
his
team-mates
changing
that
fact.

“It’s
not
something
that
I’ve
always
got
right,
there’s
been
long
periods
of
my
career
where
I
was
very
guilty
of
getting
in
and
getting
out
and
it
might
happen
again
in
the
future,
I
really
hope
it
doesn’t,”
Root
added.

“What
I
have
managed
to
do
well
so
far
this
year
is
I
know
how
I
want
to
score
my
runs,
I
know
where
my
big
strengths
are,
I
just
back
them
completely.
Trusted
my
decision-making
under
pressure,
not
doubted
it,
and
when
I
have
got
in
I’ve
felt
like
I’ve
had
that
mindset
of
‘it’s
going
to
take
something
very
special
to
get
me
out’.

“Hopefully
that
can
be
infectious
and
feed
through
the
rest
of
the
batting
group.
It
just
takes
that
one
person
to
go
on
and
do
it,
it
can
very
quickly
spread
like
wildfire
and
feed
into
the
rest
of
the
group.
Hopefully
that
can
materialise
this
week.”