‘It’s exciting to see crux of squad together’, says Joe Root

Dubai: England Test-captain Joe Root on Tuesday said it was nice to get off to a winning start against Pakistan in the one-off T20I and was delighted seeing the crux of the team together.

"It's exciting to see the crux of the squad together and to start the journey of the summer. And for us to find a way of winning two games, I know this is a different format, but the majority of the squad will be around for the 50-over stuff," International Cricket Council (ICC) quoted Root as saying.

"It was a great chance for us to start going in the right direction, to get some momentum going into the one-day series. It's really pleasing to be two from two and, hopefully, now carry that forward throughout those five games," he added.

England registered a seven-wicket victory over Pakistan in a one-off T20I on Sunday and the pleasing fact for the team was that the win was achieved in the absence of key players like Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, and Ben Stokes.

Jofra Archer, the latest addition to the limited-overs team of England, made a good impression in the T20I scalping two wickets and Root was seen addressing the value addition Archer brings to the team.

"You could see the value of what he could bring to a side, that extra bit of zip. He is someone that wants to get into the game and make things happen, which is a brilliant quality to have," Archer said.

"What this game did is provide a huge opportunity for guys who haven't played a huge amount for England, either before or in recent times. It was really important that those guys got something out of it.

It's about them trying to take that opportunity and us finding a way of winning without a normal-looking T20 side, and I thought it was a fantastic effort from the group to win in the manner that we did," he added.

England next takes on Pakistan in the five-match ODI series beginning on May 8 at the Oval in London.