“In this job you can be a bit like Peter Pan, you never
really have to grow up.”
Joe Root was standing on the outfield at Old Trafford after
guiding England to victory over Sri Lanka in the first Test.
It’s an apt comparison. When Root joined England for his
first tour in 2012, he was so young-looking that spinner Graeme Swann compared
him to the team mascot.
Even after more Tests as captain than any other England
player, a job that can make a man twice as old and half as happy, Root remains
baby faced and impish at the crease. The batter that never grew up, Test
cricket his Neverland.
But Bazball threatened to turn Root into a Lost Boy. Though
his form remained excellent through the first phase of the Ben Stokes-Brendon
McCullum era, Root himself admitted to being unsure of his role in the new
world.
A team man and a loyal friend to Stokes, Root would have
been at pains to support the message of ultra-positivity. Root’s reverse-scoop
became both a symbol of the revamped England, but a threat to the effectiveness
of their greatest batter.
Alastair Cook, Root’s predecessor as Test captain,
recognised Root’s predicament.
“As a previous captain who fitted back into the set-up,
you’re so aware of not stepping on toes, not saying stuff in team meetings that
is different to the captain’s message,” said Cook.
“I definitely disagreed with some things Joe Root did as
captain, but never would have said it in a meeting, rather over a beer behind
closed doors.
“When Ben Stokes was saying he wanted to play in a certain
way, Root would have been over-conscious to make sure he wasn’t the person that
didn’t buy in.”
The reverse-scoop (the Roop?) was deployed with success in
the early part of Stokes’ reign, but first cost Root his wicket against New
Zealand at Mount Manganui in early 2023.
Later that year, his attempt to reverse Pat Cummins became
one of the most famous dot balls in Ashes history. Root missed, but by trying
the shot to the first ball of the fourth day of the opening Test at Edgbaston,
he made England’s intentions clear.
In India, it unravelled. Root’s reverse at Jasprit Bumrah in
the third Test at Rajkot was caught at slip, sparked an England collapse and
caused a national debate over the damage being done to one to one of the
country’s most treasured assets. Like asking David Attenborough to knock
wildlife on the head and try grime music instead.
Only Root will know what he contemplated in the aftermath,
but since that moment he has been impeccable with the bat.
Root has made at least one half-century in each of the six
Tests following the Rajkot reverse, including three hundreds, culminating with
a sublime 143 against Sri Lanka at Lord’s on Thursday.
In that time, Root is averaging 87 with a strike-rate of
58.8, just a smidge above his career rate of 56.8. While England Bazball, Root
has found a way to Rootball.
After Rajkot and until this Test at Lord's, Root attempted
only two reverse scoops, one after passing three figures against West Indies at
Trent Bridge, the other with the game at Old Trafford in the bag. He missed the
second one, too.
This ton was an exhibition, a ruthless exploitation of ideal
batting conditions while others around him found ways to get out.
Root’s defence was immaculate, the tucks off his pads crisp
and timing through the off side sweet.
His only moment of uncertainty came in 12 deliveries spent
on 99, the most in his Test career and longest by any England batter in a Test
for 24 years. When he finally got to three figures, Root paid tribute to Graham
Thorpe, the late former England batter and batting coach who had such an
influence on his career.
It was a twist for such an unblemished innings to be ended
by the third post-Rajkot reverse, as Root’s scoop at Milan Rathnayake ended in
the hands of point. There were only two and a half overs to go until the second
new ball.
“I don’t like to be driven by fear,” Root explained to Test
Match Special afterwards. “You are looking for opportunities, how you’re going
to score and move the game forward. I felt like I’d earned the right to do that
in that situation.
“It was about trying to mentally put a nail in the coffin
going into the second new ball and driving home in the last hour. We could have
ended up getting 30 or 40 more runs if that was the case.”
By the time the latest reverse caused his downfall, Root had
notched more records in what will end as the most prolific career England Test
cricket, and possibly even the game as a whole, will ever see.
This was his 33rd Test century, equalling Cook as England’s
most hundred-hungry batter. Six Test tons at Lord’s is a joint-record and Root
went past Cook for most Test runs in this country.
Root needs another 198 runs to overhaul Cook’s 12,472 as the
most by an England batter in Tests. He could get there before the summer is
out, or in Pakistan in October at the latest. After that, it will be chipping
up the list towards Sachin Tendulkar’s 15,921. Even if Root does not pass the
Little Master, he will almost certainly retire with an amount no other player
that follows him will match.
There will remain, though, one achievement of Cook’s to
emulate. Sir Chef has five hundreds in Australia, including three on the
glorious Ashes-winning tour of 2010-11. Root has yet to reach three figures
down under, an itch to scratch in just over a year’s time.
Nearing his 34th birthday, Root is now roughly the same age
as Cook when the opener ended his Test career in 2018, but in his own words,
has “still quite a lot more to do”.
On 145 caps, he has missed just two Tests since he made his
debut and, following injuries to Stokes and Zak Crawley, is the only Bazball
ever-present.
To peer into his hunger for scoring Test runs, we can
revisit that India tour and the aftermath of the Bumrah incident.
“I’m trying to play how I think is the best way to score
runs,” said Root in February. “As an experienced player, the amount of cricket
I’ve played, you trust your instincts in the moment.
“The reason that I’ve been able to play as many games as I
have and been fortunate to play as many games as I have is because, under
pressure, a lot of times I’ve managed to make those right decisions.
“We’re all England fans in that dressing room, we all want
the best for England cricket. We will continue to do everything we can to win
as many games as we can and get the best out of each other.”
