By Callum Dent
Joe Root has found a new way of taking his mind off cricket while on tour - playing the ukulele.
Better known as a right-handed batsman who bowls occasional off-spin, the 23-year-old is also a keen musician.
The guitar was his preferred instrument but a lack of space in his luggage put paid to his hopes of becoming the new Ed Sheeran.
Instead Root, currently on tour with England in Sri Lanka, turned to the ukulele as a way of relaxing away from the field.
"I wanted to learn the guitar. But you can't really lug it around,” Root said.
"If guys want to take golf clubs and stuff (on tour), it would be a bit selfish of me to try to take up space with a guitar - and I can fit the ukulele in my suitcase.
"You can end up spending a lot of time indoors. If it gets dark, you can't really play too much golf ... so it's a good way of relaxing, and staying off my feet."
Unusual line of questioning for @joeroot05 - "Are you learning to play the ukulele?" #SLvENG pic.twitter.com/pnwCdqKkJ5
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) December 9, 2014
By his own admission, Root still has a long way to go to master the instrument.
When asked if he practises often, he said: "Now and again, yes ... (but) I'm horrendous at it."
He added: "I can't really sing, so I try to make sure I play loud enough so no one can hear that.
"It sounds horrendous at the minute. But I hope, one day, it might sound all right."
Tracks from legendary Manchester band Oasis and Sheffield's Arctic Monkeys are high on Root’s playlist, rather than popular entertainer George Formby, who was famous for his ukulele playing.
However, the Yorkshireman has refused to rule out the possibility of learning one of the Lancastrian’s most famous numbers - ‘When I’m Cleaning Windows’.
"Not yet," he said. "I might learn it for you, though."
Can @joeroot05 play the ukulele? Here's the answer @JohnSunCricket @CricketMirror @SkySportsNewsHQ #SLvEng http://t.co/YinLrI2ddN
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) December 9, 2014
Back to on-field matters, England are looking to keep the seven-match one-day international series alive with victory in the fifth contest at Kandy tomorrow.
A five-wicket defeat at Colombo’s R Premadasa Stadium leaves Alastair Cook’s side 3-1 behind with a trio of matches remaining.
Root has called on his side to perform with both bat and ball, saying: “I think we have showed in every game at some point along the way that we are capable of doing that.
“The thing for us now is to put it in one complete performance. I think even the game we did win we didn’t play at our absolute best, which is promising.
“But you don’t want to talk about being promising all the time. Now is the time for us to step up and start putting in performances.”
With no margin for error, Root believes playing under pressure now will stand them in good stead at the World Cup next year.
He added: “This is a great opportunity for us to do it under pressure before a World Cup.
England have been training at Pallekele this morning in scorching temperatures. #SLvENG pic.twitter.com/pBgq5hTkTR
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) December 9, 2014
“We want to win this series and we know, looking at the wicket here, that conditions might be slightly different to Colombo and if we can get level going into that last game, it is going to be a great finish.
“This pressure is good practice for a World Cup. In regards to preparing for that, that is as close as we can get.
“We are just going to try and make sure we put in two really good performances and finish off the series well.”
James Taylor made the most of his opportunity on his first appearance in an England shirt for over a year in Sunday’s loss.
The Nottinghamshire right-hander struck 90 off 109 deliveries to help England post 265 all out, a total Sri Lanka chased with two balls to spare.
“It is great to see guys come in and play like that,” Root said.
“It is very refreshing. He has proved himself in domestic cricket for a long time now and for him to do it on the international stage will give him a lot of confidence.”