Joe Root vows England will prove they can handle turning pitches in Sri Lanka

English international cricketer Joe Root, who is the current captain of the England Test team, is confident England can banish the notion they are vulnerable to spin once and for all in Sri Lanka. 'I think we've certainly got it in us. There have been signs of that and as a team, our record against spin is right up there, if not the best in the world over the last couple of years,' he said. 'This is another opportunity to show everyone how good we are against spin and to perform well on these surfaces. 'To do that it's important to understand the rhythm of batting here is very different to back home. The way we structure setting a target or chasing one down might be very different to how we go about it at home.' Sri Lankan captain Dinesh Chandimal said on the eve of the series that England pair Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid were unable to offer such 'mystery spin' but Root is not letting tags cloud his judgement. 'Every bowler you've never faced before is a mystery because you don't know what you're going to get,' he said. 'You can get yourself out by talking yourself out. Most importantly you prepare, watch the footage, see how they operate and go and play accordingly. 'But I think Rash would be a bit disappointed by saying there's no mystery about how he bowls. He has a few tricks in his bag and I'm sure you'll see that on these surfaces.'

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