His team ended up on the losing side but England captain Joe Root believes that the pitch for the Oval Test against India was a “brilliant example” of a good Test track and he would like to see more of these during the home season and the county circuit.
England are having a forgettable summer at home, having lost to New Zealand in June and trailing India 1-2 in the ongoing five-match series.
The wicket at The Oval aided the pacers early on before becoming a batting beauty. On day five, Indian bowlers still managed to get enough out of it for a famous win.
“Home advantage is always going to be there. In this country at times with the weather, the amount of rain can disrupt how you prepare a pitch. But from my point of view I encourage just really good Test wickets,” he said in an online press conference here.
“If we’re going to be the best team in the world we’re going to have to be play on good wickets which are flat in certain periods. We’re also going to have to be able to learn to deal with the scoreboard pressure.
“We should also be able to deal with the pressure of spinning wicket towards the back end of the Test match,” he added. Preparing a green top can also be counter-productive for England against a high quality India pace attack. Root has not seen the wicket for the fifth Test yet but he has gained a lot of knowledge on the conditions at Old Trafford by playing thrice last year.