It is hard to believe that Joe Root has been around for just 10 years. It seems he has been playing the game non-stop. In such a short span, he has already played 127 Tests. That is 12 Tests per year. The importance ECB and Joe himself gives to Test cricket is quite heartening. In his career, Root has seen almost everything. He has been a World Cup winner which has eluded a lot of Englishmen. Multiple Ashes winner and more importantly, he has seen England win Test series in a lot of countries. However, there are certain things that Root will want to achieve before he bids adieu to the game. Let me analyse in 10 years of Jot Root.
Ever since Root burst onto the scene, he was marked as someone who will end up as the all-time great English batsman. A true great. He will eventually leave the game as the highest run scorer among the English batsmen. He has got less than 2000 runs to go past Alastair Cook, the current record holder. Root is only 32 with another 3-4 years of solid cricket left in him. It is just a question of time.
Root values Test cricket a lot more than his peers. Root is a quick scorer. He is always on the look out for runs. He has hardly played T20 but has a healthy strike rate of 126. That fact that he gave up T20 to concentrate on Test and ODI differentiates him from his illustrious peers. If he had wanted to play in T20, he would not have been out of place. He is just like Virat Kohli in that he is good in all formats unlike Smith or Williamson who aren’t that good when it comes to T20.
Good player of spin
Root’s record in Asia is brilliant. He can actually teach the Asian cricketers of how to play spin. With reverse sweep, he has opened a wide range of scoring options so much that the bowlers are never settled. They cannot think of bowling one line and are forced to alter their thinking constantly. England have enjoyed consistent success in Sri Lanka. They have won the last 5 Tests in that island nation. A large part of that was due to Root’s batting. The 228 at Galle in 2021 was a lesson for anyone wishing to play spin.
The hallmark of that innings was Root’s courage to come down the track every now and then to unsettle the spinners. Repeatedly, Root hit them over the head and used both conventional and reverse sweep to devastating effect. The Sri Lankan spinners were rendered worthless against a batsman of the highest class. His innings helped England win the Test and take a lead in the series.
The Chennai cruise
Another innings of Root’s masterclass against spin came in Chennai. Before the series began, there was much talk of Ashwin running through England. Pitches in India generally favour spin. England were however much confident having won both the Tests in Sri Lanka prior to the Indian series. First test at Chennai, Root’s commanding double hundred led England to a match winning 558. It was an innings that bore ultimate concentration against a bowler who is at his best in his own condition. For the Indian supporter, it was torture at best. He never looked like getting out and we were all resigned to the fact that the Indian batsmen will not be able to bat on a turning track.
If he is a master in playing spin, his ability to play fast bowlers were also exemplary. At Jo’berg in 2016 on a seaming track where is colleagues failed, Root displayed ample amount of gumption and courage to counter attack Morkel & Rabadda and scored a sublime century.
Lack of success in Australia
Root will not view his performances or lack of it in Australia quite fondly. In more than 10 Tests, he didn’t manage to score a single hundred. It is really a surprise that despite looking quite comfortable at the crease, he usually find ways to get out. To every Root supporter, his lack of hundred in Australia is something unfathomable. Here is a player, who is not a suspect against fast bowlers on wickets with bounce nor against spin, who hasn’t actually managed to score a hundred despite multiple attempts. With time running out, he will probably get one more chance in 2025 to correct this anomaly. His reflexes then are bound to have slowed down by then and maybe he may also experience a dip in form. How is he going to manage to correct this aberration is difficult to realise now.
Captaincy record
His captaincy is somewhat mixed. He has had some fabulous series wins in Sri Lanka and South Africa but at the sametime, he also has some abject surrender in various other countries on his CV. Let me first take up Ashes cricket in Australia. Root in a couple of attempts at winning the Ashes in Australia was neither able to win it nor was he able to stem the rot. The 2 thrashings in Australia in 2017 and 2021 will forever be remembered as poor phase of English cricket. Not only was he unable to win in Australia, he wasn’t able to win the Ashes even in England.
Something a couple of his predecessors did. He had his best chance in 2017 but the combined might of Smith and the Australia bowlers thwarted England’s chances.
England captains are defined by their success against Australia. Root in this sense, falls way too short.
Another of Root’s problem was in the West Indies. For some reason, England have found even the weakened West Indies too tough to handle. Under Root they lost a couple of series in West Indies when other teams like Australia, South Africa & India proved that it is possible to consistently defeat them.
Having said that, under him, England won quite astonishingly in South Africa and Sri Lanka. Infact, in Sri Lanka, England have won 5 consecutive Tests. It is something they have never accomplished in the island nation.
I always felt that handing over the captaincy to Root was a mistake. Initially, it was alright because there weren’t any other candidate but once his form began to suffer and results weren’t to the liking, it was better to have removed him from the captaincy.
Wrapping up 10 years of Joe Root
Just as I have written above, Root in his career has seen almost all. Some things will always remain open on his CV. Ashes win under him and a World Cup not to mention a hundred in Australia.
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