Joe Root fears he could be humbled by Love Island star Chris Hughes as they prepare do battle in the NHS Charities Together Cup.
The England captain is one of several sports stars taking part in a FIFA 20 tournament alongside various celebrities to raise money amid the COVID-19 crisis.
Having been booted off the cricket team – which features Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Stuart Broad – Root will join forces with golf’s Justin Rose and bodybuilder Ulisses in ‘Team Hercules’.
But the cricketer admits FIFA isn’t his strong point as he prepares for today’s quarter-final clash vs Hughes.
“Honestly, I’m not the strongest at FIFA,” he told talkSPORT Breakfast. “It could be a cricket score!
“Plenty of the lads take it away on tour. Unfortunately, the Sri Lanka tour was cut short, otherwise I might’ve got some more practice.
NHS Charities Together Cup Teams
Team Zeus: Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Stuart Broad
Team Ares: John Terry, Paddy McGuiness, Jonny Brownlee
Team Apollo: Dillian Whyte, Tony Bellew, Tim Cahill
Team Nemesis: Lando Norris, SV2, Tekkers Kid
Team Hercules: Joe Root, Justin Rose, Ulisses
Team Iris: Chris Hughes, Kem Cetinay, Shaugna Phillips
Team Artemis: Leah Williamson, Erin Cuthbert, Viv Miedema
Team Poseidon: Shaun Wright-Phillips, Joleon Lescott, Fabrice Muamba
“Broad spends far too much time on it and Buttler is quite handy as well.
“It’ll be interesting to see Stokes’ reaction if he lets a few in, I think he’ll be quite fiery.”
Root takes to the virtual field this afternoon as the tournament gets under way – and the whole thing will be streamed live on YouTube.
Like all sport, cricket remains suspended amid the coronavirus pandemic, but the England stars are finding ways to stay busy.
Buttler has been getting padded up for Pilates, and it sounds like Jofra Archer has spent most of lockdown looking for his World Cup winners’ medal.
The paceman, who starred in the dramatic victory over New Zealand in the final last summer, recently revealed he lost the prize when he moved house, only to find it in his guest bedroom.
“That doesn’t surprise me at all,” Root added.
“At the start of the World Cup, we were just about to go out and Jofra turned round to one of the lads and asked if Eoin Morgan was playing, having seen him do the toss on the big screen.
“He’s just very relaxed and very cool. He’s someone who can come across like he’s not on it, but he’s very much engaged.”
