Joe Root pays emotional tribute to Graham Thorpe after superb ton puts England on brink

Joe Root paid an emotional tribute to his former mentor Graham Thorpe as England stumbled in sight of a thrilling win at The Oval.

Twin hundreds from Yorkshire chuckle brothers Root and Harry Brook carried England to within 35 runs of their 374 target on 339-6 in the final Rothesay Test.

Root, whose chanceless 105 was his third century of the series, hopes they won’t need to call on injured all-rounder Chris Woakes, who will bat with a dislocated left shoulder if necessary to help seal the series 3-1.

When he reached three figures, the world ’s No.1-ranked Test batter reached into his pocket and out on a white headband - tragic Thorpe’s signature accessory - to acknowledge his former tutor’s influence on his career.

Fans raised £150,000 for mental health charity Mind in memory of Thorpe, who took his own life aged 55 last year, on a designated day of homage and Root said: "I wish I had it in my pocket from the start.

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“I put it there at tea. He is someone who impacted the game in this country as a player, coach, mentor and friend.

"That wasn't just from me but our whole dressing room. It is great to see everyone show the amount of love for him throughout this week because he is a real legend of English cricket and has done so much good for so many people.”

Root’s 39th Test century and Brook’s dashing 111 off 98 balls put England on course for the second-highest successful run chase in their history.

But crocked Woakes may yet be needed to help them eke out the 35 runs required, and Root said: “He is desperate to do what it takes. There is a lot of things that have to happen before that.

“He is in a huge amount of pain, but it shows - as we have seen from other guys like Rishabh Pant batting with a broken foot at Old Trafford - how much it means to the players.

“Hopefully he doesn’t have to bat, but if it does come down to that hopefully he can help us win an incredible series. It was amazing to be able to play second fiddle to Harry and watch it from the other end, the best seat in the house.

“It’s not like it was a one-off fluke - he has scored 10 hundreds for England playing in a similar manner.

“It’s been an incredible series and we’re confident - in our dressing room we feel we have the players to get us across the line. But it’s been six weeks where the pendulum has swung both ways and it is quite fitting for how the rest of the series has gone that we’ve got this finish.

“It has ebbed and flowed all of the way through and this Test is exactly same. We are in for a cracker for tomorrow.

"We are in a good position. We have another heavy roller available, things might happen quicker with the second new ball, it might be easier to score. A lot of things are in our favour.

“We have so much ability left in the dressing room. Clearly they have had a good passage of play but tomorrow could be a real good opportunity to get across the line.”