Pacer Kemar Roach says Joe Root's absence will give WI the upper hand in the 1st Test

West Indies pacer Kemar Roach has said that the absence of Joe Root on the England side for the first Test of the three-match series will give advantage to the Caribbean team. The English Test skipper would be missing the first Test against West Indies at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton to attend the birth of his second child. This was officially confirmed by the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on their official social media handles last week. Star all-rounder and Test vice-captain Ben Stokes will be the stand-in captain for this contest.

'A bit of an advantage of us': Joe Root

"A Test match without Root, the fantastic stats he has, is going to be a bit of an advantage for us. He is the one who keeps the England batting together. He has done fantastically for them for the last couple of years," ESPNCricinfo quoted Roach as saying.

"Without him, it is a bit of an advantage for us, but also a little bit of a disadvantage because there are some new guys coming in that we obviously have to work out and see what their weaknesses are and try to exploit them. So it goes 50-50, but once we get stuck in and hit our straps and put the balls in the right area, I think we stand a very good chance of going out there and performing well," he added. 

Root left England's training camp on Wednesday afternoon to be with his wife. All-rounder Ben Stokes would be leading England in the first Test. The right-handed batsman also missed England's three-day intra-squad warm-up match which was played from July 1-3.

Root will also commence a seven-day self-isolation period at home once he leaves the hospital with his family. He will join back the England squad ahead of the second Test at Emirates Old Trafford on July 13.

West Indies tour of England 2020

Meanwhile, all the cricketing events have either been postponed or canceled since the month of March due to the global pandemic. The cricketing action will get underway when England and the West Indies lock horns in a three-match Test series starting from July 8.

All the matches will be played behind closed doors. The first Test match will be played at the Rosebowl Cricket Ground (8-12 July) while the second and third Test matches will be played at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground (16-20 July), while the third and final Test will be played at the same venue as well (24-28 July).

All the cricketing events including the IPL 2020 (suspended indefinitely) have either been postponed or canceled since the month of March due to coronavirus fear. 

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(With ANI Inputs; Image Courtesy - AP)