Ben Stokes has revealed his recovering father Ged was on his mind as he carried England to a dramatic fifth-day victory over South Africa in Cape Town.
Stokes senior was admitted to a Johannesburg hospital in a critical condition ahead of the first Test in Centurion, having travelled to see his son take part in the Boxing Day Test, and is slowly recovering.
The England all-rounder has carried the burden throughout the first two matches of the series but, rather than weighing him down, it spurred him on to yet another memorable performance in the 189-run win at Newlands.
With South Africa showing seemingly endless reserves of grit and determination it was Stokes who stepped up to deliver the tourists the result they craved after five long days at the coal face, leaving just 50 deliveries to spare.
In the afterglow of becoming the first England captain to take down the Proteas at Newlands since Peter May in 1957, Root offered a similar assessment.
“It was a great game of cricket and a great advert for five-day Test cricket,” he said.
“I like five-day Test cricket, I’ll leave it at that or I’ll get in trouble.”
England’s joy was tempered by some bad news, with seam bowler James Anderson picking up a side injury which curtailed his involvement in the closing stages. He will be sent for scans, with Root admitting England did not yet know the extent of the problem.
England will also await the match referee’s verdict on an exchange between wicketkeeper Jos Buttler and Vernon Philander, with Buttler likely to find himself in the dock after the stump microphone picked up a colourful piece of sledging.
