- Joined
- Oct 2, 2004
- Runs
- 217,980
England will look towards their captain Joe Root for inspiration on the tour of India. England's Test captain is the country's best batsman in the longest format of the game and is in good form after scoring two centuries in Sri Lanka. He will look to continue his run-streak when he steps onto the field in Chennai.
However, there is a different challenge at hand for the right-handed batsman as he will face one of the premier spinners in the world, R Ashwin on turning tracks.
His slight frame in the formative cricketing years forced Joe Root to hone his skills in playing the sweep shot against spinners, something that he might employ during the "mini-battle" with Ashwin in the four-Test series against India starting Friday.
"I won't look to dominate or defend but just try and play the ball that is delivered. If I stay around for a period of time, I will score some big runs. He has got a great record in India and is probably full of confidence for that series.
"...you know, I have played against him before and scored some runs and he has got the better of me a couple of times and it will be a little battle between the Test match. The contest that you want to get the better off," he said.
After former England skipper Graham Gooch, who was one of the finest exponents of sweep shot against Asian spinners, current skipper Root -- with scores of 228 and 186 in Sri Lanka -- has shown his mastery on low and slow tracks.
On the eve of the opening Test against India, Root told the story of how he developed the difficult shot that his contemporaries like Virat Kohli or Steve Smith hardly play.
"For me as a young lad, I was always very small. So it took a long time for me to grow and develop physically. I had to find a way to get the ball off the square against any spinners in particular as there was no pace to work with," Root answered to a query from PTI during virtual media conference.
"And sweep was one shot where I could generate the maximum power.
"So learning to play that well was pretty much a scoring option for the large proportion of my junior career. Since then I have tried to develop my game a bit more broadly and worked with some brilliant players and brilliant coaches," added the England captain, who has scored more than 8000 Test runs.
Root said that in the recent tour of Sri Lanka, sweep was the low risk option taking the pitch into account while combating what their spinners had to offer.
Root explained that risk assessment is key to playing the sweep shot.
"For me, it's about understanding playing on line or on length and understanding the surface, whether bounce is going to be an issue or the lateral movement or turn, and trying to factor all those in and calculate the risks to play in a shot."
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cric...a-vs-england-test-series-101612438924218.html
However, there is a different challenge at hand for the right-handed batsman as he will face one of the premier spinners in the world, R Ashwin on turning tracks.
His slight frame in the formative cricketing years forced Joe Root to hone his skills in playing the sweep shot against spinners, something that he might employ during the "mini-battle" with Ashwin in the four-Test series against India starting Friday.
"I won't look to dominate or defend but just try and play the ball that is delivered. If I stay around for a period of time, I will score some big runs. He has got a great record in India and is probably full of confidence for that series.
"...you know, I have played against him before and scored some runs and he has got the better of me a couple of times and it will be a little battle between the Test match. The contest that you want to get the better off," he said.
After former England skipper Graham Gooch, who was one of the finest exponents of sweep shot against Asian spinners, current skipper Root -- with scores of 228 and 186 in Sri Lanka -- has shown his mastery on low and slow tracks.
On the eve of the opening Test against India, Root told the story of how he developed the difficult shot that his contemporaries like Virat Kohli or Steve Smith hardly play.
"For me as a young lad, I was always very small. So it took a long time for me to grow and develop physically. I had to find a way to get the ball off the square against any spinners in particular as there was no pace to work with," Root answered to a query from PTI during virtual media conference.
"And sweep was one shot where I could generate the maximum power.
"So learning to play that well was pretty much a scoring option for the large proportion of my junior career. Since then I have tried to develop my game a bit more broadly and worked with some brilliant players and brilliant coaches," added the England captain, who has scored more than 8000 Test runs.
Root said that in the recent tour of Sri Lanka, sweep was the low risk option taking the pitch into account while combating what their spinners had to offer.
Root explained that risk assessment is key to playing the sweep shot.
"For me, it's about understanding playing on line or on length and understanding the surface, whether bounce is going to be an issue or the lateral movement or turn, and trying to factor all those in and calculate the risks to play in a shot."
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cric...a-vs-england-test-series-101612438924218.html
