“That was a decent wicket,” Brook said with a grin at the post-match presentations, after his ballistic innings of 136 not out from 66 balls. “I was happy with it. It ended up being better than we thought.”
Root, nevertheless, was named Player of the Series for his haul of 247 runs at 123.50 across the three matches, including a matchwinning fifty in Saturday’s series-levelling win. And speaking at the post-match presentations, Brook heaped praise on his team-mate’s contribution and influence.
“It was an awesome effort from everybody involved,” Brook said. “Rooty is just exceptional. To have him in the side just helps every day. That was an exceptional performance by the lads.
“I was working on a few things with Rooty in the nets yesterday, and luckily it paid off today,” he added. “I felt good and I’m glad that me, Rooty and Beth [Jacob Bethell] could get us to that total.”
Root himself shrugged off the impact of his own innings, which paled compared to Brook’s late fireworks but was nevertheless critical to England being able to post such a formidable total, at a venue where no team in the series had previously exceeded Sri Lanka’s total of 271 for 6 in the opening match.
“More than anything, you just want to win games and contribute to winning games,” Root said. “My role in this team is pretty obvious, and it’s nice to try and help the younger guys come through now, I’ve got a bit older.
“As you play, your role in that aspect changes all the time. So it’s just moving along with that and trying to help those other guys come through.”
Root had set England on course for a competitive total during a third-wicket stand of 126 with Bethell, who made 65 from 72 balls. But, having reached his own hundred from exactly 100 balls, he then contributed just one run in the final 69 that England scored as Brook piled into the back-end of the innings with extraordinary poise and power.
“It was great out there,” Root said. “The way that Beth played, then Harry came in and just took the game on in that manner. It was fantastic. It shows his versatility, with the way he played the other night, compared to today.”
Prior to Saturday’s win, England had lost 11 overseas ODIs in a row, but now they are back to winning ways. And though the squad’s attention is about to switch to the impending T20 World Cup, Root was pleased to have laid down a marker ahead of next year’s 50-over version.
“It shows what we are capable of as a 50-over team,” he said. “It’s a really good step forward for this group after a tough little period, especially away from home. So there’s a lot to build on. And for the guys that are staying for the T20 stuff, a lot of confidence to take into that as well.”
For Root, the innings marked the end of a long winter campaign that began in New Zealand in October and included his twin hundreds in a losing cause in the Ashes. While his team-mates turn their attention to the 20-over game, he will head home for a deserved break, with England’s next Test series coming up against New Zealand in June.
“I’m quite looking forward to it, to be honest,” he said. “Having a little bit of time at home, a bit of a break and time with the family.
“I’ll have a good lead into to that Test series. It’s very rare that we get breaks like that in the calendar. You’ve got to make the most of them and utilise that time well. If there’s things you want to work on and touch up, then that’s your chance to do it. That’s what I’ll try and do throughout that period.”
