ENG vs NZ: Want to bat as long as I can for my side, says Joe Root after match-winning ton against New Zealand

ENG vs NZ: After a magnificent unbeaten 115 to lead England to a five-wicket victory over New Zealand in the first Test at Lord’s on Sunday, Joe Root‘s desire to succeed with England is as strong as ever.

Root reluctantly handed over the captaincy to Ben Stokes this year, but by reaching his 26th Test century and being the 14th batsman to reach 10,000 runs, he swiftly demonstrated his value to the team.

He and Ben Foakes established an unbeaten partnership of 120 for the sixth wicket to help the hosts reach a challenging 277-run victory mark.

“It feels fantastic, more than anything for us to have won this Test match after such a long time. It has been a tough road, but the way everyone has gone about this week has been so enjoyable,” Root said.

“I’m really looking forward to the rest of the summer. And hopefully we can use this as a way to move forward as a group now.”

Despite his own outstanding form with the bat, England has only won one of Root’s last 17 Tests as captain. And he intends to assist Stokes and new coach Brendon McCullum in launching a successful period for the Test side.

“You look at the amount of times Ben won Test matches under my leadership. It is a great opportunity for me to try and give back to him. It was nice to do it for him today,” Root said.

“As long as I have the energy to keep doing it (play for England), I will do. I love batting and I love the group of players we have.

“I could not wish for a better person to be leading this team. So I will do everything I can to help him win games. And see us be a successful test team again.”

On Friday, the second Test begins at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.

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