SL vs Eng: Root thanks England fan over phone for his support
Jan 18, 2021
Galle [Sri Lanka], January 18 : After winning the first Test by seven-wicket against Sri Lanka on Monday, skipper Joe Root made a phone call to England fan Rob Lewis, who was watching the Test from the nearby Galle Fort, and thanked him for his support.
Jonny Bairstow and Daniel Lawrence shared an unbeaten 62-run stand to help England secure a 1-0 lead in the Test series. Root's double ton and Dom Bess five-for in the first innings had set the stage for a victory before England got off to a wobbly start in their second essay on Sunday.
Root made a call from the stadium and waved towards Lewis, standing at the Galle Fort. The official handle of England Cricket shared the conversation between the skipper and the fan on Twitter.
"It was nice to see you finally up on the Fort. Mate, it's an absolute pleasure. That's why I wanted to come over on behalf of all the lads. We really appreciate your support. It's an incredible story and journey that you've been on over the last year or so. So more than anything I wanted to say a massive thank you. We really appreciate you being here and making the effort to come down and support us," Root said to Lewis while on call.
"It's a real pleasure for us to be able to enjoy this with you, so thank you very much, mate. It's nice to be able to celebrate together a win here in Sri Lanka. I'm glad you've enjoyed it. We've certainly enjoyed you being there supporting us signing your heart out as well, so look forward to more of it on Friday.
"We really appreciate it mate. It's an amazing effort so thank you very much. Enjoy the rest of your day and get Randy Caddick on it and celebrate hard. Cheers Rob, thanks a lot mate," he added.
Earlier, Root after scoring his double ton acknowledged Lewis' cheers from the top of the Galle Fort. Having travelled to the Island Nation before the coronavirus pandemic brought the Sri Lanka-England series to a halt, Lewis waited for 10 months in the country to watch the English boys return for the series.
