We weren't good enough: Joe Root

Joe Root of England failed to capitalise from his overnight score against Pakistan on the third day of the second Test.

Dubai - England's below-par batting display in a forlorn first innings proved particularly disappointing, with only Cook (65), Root (88) and Jonny Bairstow (46) progressing beyond starts as they were dismissed for 242.

By Alex Leach

Published: Sun 25 Oct 2015, 12:00 AM

Last updated: Sun 25 Oct 2015, 12:02 PM

Joe Root insists he and his England team-mates must learn lessons from the costly errors they made on the third day of this second Test against Pakistan here at Dubai International Stadium on Saturday.
Alastair Cook's men shall resume play on Sunday morning 358 runs behind their hosts, who have seven wickets in hand, and will therefore be battling to avoid a heavy defeat in this best-of-three series.
England's below-par batting display in a forlorn first innings proved particularly disappointing, with only Cook (65), Root (88) and Jonny Bairstow (46) progressing beyond starts as they were dismissed for 242.
"We have got to pitch up tomorrow (Sunday) and put in a better performance than we did today (Saturday) because we just weren't good enough. It's as simple as that," the Yorkshire batsman admitted.
"You play every situation as you see it and, this morning, we got it wrong. We weren't able to match Pakistan.
"It's something we've got to learn from fast. We know that we're a very good side, we know that we've got a lot of talent in the dressing room and it's just about making sure that we don't make the same mistakes again in the second innings."
Wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler's performances have come in for particular scrutiny of late and his nine-ball duck yesterday won't have helped his case for prolonged involvement whatsoever.
Nonetheless, echoing sentiments expressed by Cook previously, Root has every faith the Lancashire player will respond in a manner befitting his calibre.
"He will be disappointed after today (Saturday), but he's a fine cricketer and I expect him to bounce back because that's what great players do," he added.
"You can single out individuals as much as you want, but - as a side - we always look after each other. We're desperate for everyone within the side to do well and Jos has had a couple of low scores.
"But, I have every confidence in him turning it round because he's a fine player and I can see him doing great things for England in the future."
alex@khaleejtimes.com