England captain Joe Root has defended Pakistan ahead of the third Test at Edgbaston, saying it is “disrespectful” to claim the visitors have shown “no fight” despite trailing 2-0 in the three-match series.England have already sealed the series after an innings-and-103-run win at Headingley and a 194-run victory at Lord’s. Pakistan have failed to score 200 in any of their four innings so far against England’s pace attack of Ollie Robinson, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson.Pakistan head into the final Test after a major shake-up in the squad and coaching staff. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) sent seven players home after the Lord’s defeat, removed Test coach Sarfaraz Ahmed, and brought in white-ball coach Mike Hesson to lead the side for the series finale. The board also added seven players to the squad, including five uncapped Test cricketers.The team has been labelled one of Pakistan’s weakest Test sides in decades, but Root rejected the suggestion that England had faced an opposition lacking fight.Asked during his pre-match press conference ahead of the third Test on what it was like to play against a team offering “no fight”, Root pushed back strongly.“Absolutely we have found (Pakistan) a challenge,” Root said.“I think that’s a bit disrespectful to both Pakistan as a team and to us as a team. I don’t think we’ve allowed them to get into games because of how well we’ve played as well and how quickly we’ve read the situations and the surfaces that we’ve had,” the England captain said.“I think it’s very easy to say one team is excellent and one team is poor. Normally it’s somewhere in the middle.”The England skipper said performances should not be viewed in extremes and credited his own team for taking control of the first two Tests.“If one team has been outstanding then the other team can’t have been poor and vice-versa. I think it’s important to live in that middle area somewhere and understand that that’s not how it is,” Root added.“Regardless of what’s happened over the last two games, this week it’s a completely different proposition for us.”Root also warned his players against taking Pakistan lightly despite the visitors’ struggles in the series.“There’s a very talented group of players in that dressing room and you’ve got to be ready for it, so we’ll make sure that we are.”
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