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[PICTURES/VIDEOS] Joe Root - following his career trajectory

Certainly has a brilliant record in India, 50ish with the bat and 23.5 with the ball, a genuine all rounder in these conditions!
 
Root's struggle against Bumrah continues as he falls pray to Bumrah once again today in the 2nd innings of the first test match.

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Joe Root vs Bumrah in Tests

19 innings
245 runs
7 dismissals
Avg 35.00
 
He has had a poor 2023 with the bat. Needs to get back to his best although this Bazball clownery hasn’t helped him either.
 
Mamoon said:
He has had a poor 2023 with the bat. Needs to get back to his best although this Bazball clownery hasn’t helped him either.
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FYI

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If he wasn’t such good batsmen, we would probably talk more about his spin bowling.

In these conditions he seems to always out perform England’s specialist spinners and also seems to break partnerships and get the important wickets.
 
160KPH said:
If he wasn’t such good batsmen, we would probably talk more about his spin bowling.

In these conditions he seems to always out perform England’s specialist spinners and also seems to break partnerships and get the important wickets.
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Thinks like a batsman while bowling. And has this ability to land in good length areas.
 
160KPH said:
His numbers have been better post Bazball than pre Bazball.
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His numbers look good on paper because he consistently gets starts but those numbers don’t capture how he has been throwing his wicket away by playing unnecessary risky shots because he feels obliged to keep up with this Bazball stuff.

He is in the prime of his career but he is being held back because he is being forced to play out of his comfort zone.

It is ridiculous to see your master batsmen, arguably your greatest Test batsman of all time, try and reverse lap Cummins off his first ball or looking to slog sweep spinners every time.

In his last 20+ Tests, he is averaging 49 at a SR of 75 with just 2 hundreds. These numbers don’t do justice to his peak and he has been clearly impacted by Bazball.

Without Bazball, that average and that century tally would have been significantly higher.

It is a myth that Bazball has been beneficial for him and he has done better in this period because he was in absolute stellar form from 2021 to 2022 after a couple of lean years.

He scored 8 hundreds in a 20 Tests stretch in 2021-22 when he was batting at a normal strike rate of 55.

He would have continued that run until now if Stokes and McCullum weren’t hell bent on making their best Test batsman play Test cricket like ODI cricket.
 
Mamoon said:
His numbers look good on paper because he consistently gets starts but those numbers don’t capture how he has been throwing his wicket away by playing unnecessary risky shots because he feels obliged to keep up with this Bazball stuff.

He is in the prime of his career but he is being held back because he is being forced to play out of his comfort zone.

It is ridiculous to see your master batsmen, arguably your greatest Test batsman of all time, try and reverse lap Cummins off his first ball or looking to slog sweep spinners every time.

In his last 20+ Tests, he is averaging 49 at a SR of 75 with just 2 hundreds. These numbers don’t do justice to his peak and he has been clearly impacted by Bazball.

Without Bazball, that average and that century tally would have been significantly higher.

It is a myth that Bazball has been beneficial for him and he has done better in this period because he was in absolute stellar form from 2021 to 2022 after a couple of lean years.

He scored 8 hundreds in a 20 Tests stretch in 2021-22 when he was batting at a normal strike rate of 55.

He would have continued that run until now if Stokes and McCullum weren’t hell bent on making their best Test batsman play Test cricket like ODI cricket.
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There is some truth in this, another factor is that England’s batting as a unit has improved since the days of Roots captaincy where all the pressure was on him to play a backs to the wall effort and carry the rest of the lineup. He might be scoring less hundreds nowadays but I imagine he is enjoying his batting a lot more.
 
Mamoon said:
His numbers look good on paper because he consistently gets starts but those numbers don’t capture how he has been throwing his wicket away by playing unnecessary risky shots because he feels obliged to keep up with this Bazball stuff.

He is in the prime of his career but he is being held back because he is being forced to play out of his comfort zone.

It is ridiculous to see your master batsmen, arguably your greatest Test batsman of all time, try and reverse lap Cummins off his first ball or looking to slog sweep spinners every time.

In his last 20+ Tests, he is averaging 49 at a SR of 75 with just 2 hundreds. These numbers don’t do justice to his peak and he has been clearly impacted by Bazball.

Without Bazball, that average and that century tally would have been significantly higher.

It is a myth that Bazball has been beneficial for him and he has done better in this period because he was in absolute stellar form from 2021 to 2022 after a couple of lean years.

He scored 8 hundreds in a 20 Tests stretch in 2021-22 when he was batting at a normal strike rate of 55.

He would have continued that run until now if Stokes and McCullum weren’t hell bent on making their best Test batsman play Test cricket like ODI cricket.
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But what good use was Joe Root playing bigger innings if it was not resulting in wins?

In the 2 years preceding McCullum taking over, England played 26 Tests and only won 7. They were ranked #7 in W/L ratio, even behind Pakistan. Since he took over they’ve won 13 out of 19 Tests and have the highest W/L in the world.

I don’t think their method is perfect and maybe it would be even better if Joe Root integrated his normal style into the Bazball tactics of the batsmen around him. But one thing is for sure, whatever they’re doing is working and it’s turned England from one of the least winning Test teams to the most winning. Joe Root may not rack up as many big innings, but he’s still playing quite good and his efforts are resulting in more wins than he was getting before.
 
Surprisingly, Joe Root boasts a better bowling average than GOAT Nathan Lyon. I wonder about why England didn't fully capitalize on Joe Root's potential as a genuine all-rounder.

Bowling average in Tests in India

Joe Root - 23.50
Nathan Lyon - 27.36
Graeme Swann - 28.96
Monty Panesar- 38.25
Shane Warne - 43.12
Daniel Vettori - 44.77
Muttiah Muralitharan - 45.45
Rangana Herath - 54.33
 
FearlessRoar said:
Surprisingly, Joe Root boasts a better bowling average than GOAT Nathan Lyon. I wonder about why England didn't fully capitalize on Joe Root's potential as a genuine all-rounder.

Bowling average in Tests in India

Joe Root - 23.50
Nathan Lyon - 27.36
Graeme Swann - 28.96
Monty Panesar- 38.25
Shane Warne - 43.12
Daniel Vettori - 44.77
Muttiah Muralitharan - 45.45
Rangana Herath - 54.33
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Lyon has been poor against India both home and away.
 
Is he injured? Joe Root came out after lunch but is back off the field again, with England providing an update over his fitness:

The statement said:

"Joe Root sustained an external blow to his right little finger, attempting a slip catch in the first session of day three.

"The England medical team will keep him off the field for the time being to treat and ice. At this stage, there is no indication of when he will return to the field."
 
That’s a big blow for England if he misses any of the series, he might be out of form with the bat at the moment but he is a class player so that can quickly change and he could get a hundred, also, his bowling is helping to balance this side at the moment because he is playing as the all rounder.
 
Former England fast-bowler Darren Gough questioned Root’s ‘reckless’ way of getting out as the game finished inside four days. While speaking to a sports media channel, he said:

“What Bazball is supposed to be about is playing your natural game. But to add to it, to play with freedom. Don’t be afraid to play your natural game in the middle, like you would be in the nets. That was just reckless from one of the top three batters in the world. He will regret that."
 
Bumrah has messed up his mind. Actually in this series he was not positive until this innings. But it didn't work. So he took the aggressive option and perished.
 
Definitely lessons to be learned from today. But it’s unusual that he goes through a full series without playing a significant knock of some kind. Hence his batting average being by far the highest in the team. I think he will get a start soon, maybe coinciding with a lucky break as it often can do for batsmen, and he will then come good with a score. Class is permanent.
 
He played a horrendous shot that too against Bumrah. Are you kidding me

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Former England captain Alastair Cook on TNT Sports:

"You have to question if it was tactically right to play that shot to play. You've got Bumrah, who is India's best bowler, and Root has struggled against playing him.

"When he played it in the Ashes on the first ball on day three at Edgbaston, we didn't mind because it was about getting runs.

"But in this series, when all the wickets have been in the first 30 minutes of play, it was the wrong time to play it."
 
Destroyed by Bazball.

Waiting for some people with zero cricket knowledge talk about how his numbers have “improved” post Bazball.
 
"Root is a generational talent and Williamson is an overrated home track bully"

Root avg in India and Australia: 42 and 35
Williamson avg in Australia and India: 42 and 33
 
English players batsman in particular deteriorate rapidly after the ages of 32/33.

Roooots had his heyday
 
Certainly, his bat is not firing for England, as Joe Root has bowled 94 overs and scored only 70 runs in the ongoing 5-Test match series between India and England.
 
greatest said:
It's time to drop him. His recent shot selections are horrendous.
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Not that simple. He is possibly England’s best ever player, and he is also playing as the allrounder at the moment to try and balance the team.
 
England’s very experienced middle order including Root has been abysmal on this tour so far. 330+ Tests between them and just haven’t turned up at all. It’s completely unfair on Crawley, Duckett and Pope who are all doing their best to contribute despite facing up to the new ball and having played a fraction of the games.
 
This was an absolute road. Anyone who lost wicket without atleast a 50 must be kicking themselves. Rohit in the 2nd dig, Patidar in both innings getting out to half tracker. Root with reverse sweep.
 
Mamoon said:
Destroyed by Bazball.

Waiting for some people with zero cricket knowledge talk about how his numbers have “improved” post Bazball.
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Although his average under bazball is around 50, his average in the last 14 tests is 39.53 and that includes a 153 not out and 118 not out.

And excluding tests vs new zealand, his bazball average overall is 36 in 16 tests.
 
Root was spoken of in the same breath as Jack Hobbs, Len Hutton and Wally Hammond as potentially England‘s greatest batsmen (though one could argue his lack of performance in Australia, with no hundreds and an average in the high thirties discounts him from this illustrious company, as this is the arbiter that most English fans would apply to greatness).

That said, he is (? was) a generational talent — he should have played his own game at a SR of 55-60 and been the bedrock of the middle order.
What an extraordinary waste.
 
gibsyhesperis said:
Root was spoken of in the same breath as Jack Hobbs, Len Hutton and Wally Hammond as potentially England‘s greatest batsmen (though one could argue his lack of performance in Australia, with no hundreds and an average in the high thirties discounts him from this illustrious company, as this is the arbiter that most English fans would apply to greatness).

That said, he is (? was) a generational talent — he should have played his own game at a SR of 55-60 and been the bedrock of the middle order.
What an extraordinary waste.
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He tried that in the first two tests. But became a bunny of Bumrah. So he went the other way and got self-owned one more time.
 
gibsyhesperis said:
Root was spoken of in the same breath as Jack Hobbs, Len Hutton and Wally Hammond as potentially England‘s greatest batsmen (though one could argue his lack of performance in Australia, with no hundreds and an average in the high thirties discounts him from this illustrious company, as this is the arbiter that most English fans would apply to greatness).

That said, he is (? was) a generational talent — he should have played his own game at a SR of 55-60 and been the bedrock of the middle order.
What an extraordinary waste.
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Worded like he has announced his immediate retirement :ROFLMAO:
 
Joe Root is trying hard to fit into that bazzball frame, which is not his cup of tea, lol. Playing stupid shots like a tailender.
 
Former England captain Nasser Hussain feels Joe Root's dismissal for the reverse ramp shot off Jasprit Bumrah on Day 3 of the third Test sums up the extremities of Bazball. Speaking on local English Sports Channel after play on Day 3:

"After the first two Tests against India, we said that Root might not be suited to Bazball, but the stats say otherwise. He averages 51 under this regime and he averaged 49 before that. His dismissal sort of sums up where we are with Bazball. It will thrill and frustrate in equal measure."

"When he is playing those reverse-scoops to the first ball of the day of an Ashes Test, we all jump up and applaud. When he does it to Bumrah here and gets out, we all say 'what a disgrace'."

"One thing Joe will look at is the timing of that shot. Ashwin wasn't there, India are down a bowler; Jadeja is playing off the back of an injury,Bumrah is playing three Tests in a row and there is talk of him needing a rest. Bazball is about being attacking but it is also about soaking up pressure. Get Bumrah into his second or third spell, take it deep and then play the shot later in the day."

"Joe will assess his dismissal himself. That's what makes him a great player. He'll come back. He'll be absolutely fine."
 
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FearlessRoar said:
Former England captain Nasser Hussain feels Joe Root's dismissal for the reverse ramp shot off Jasprit Bumrah on Day 3 of the third Test sums up the extremities of Bazball. Speaking on local English Sports Channel after play on Day 3:

"After the first two Tests against India, we said that Root might not be suited to Bazball," Hussain said. "But the stats say otherwise. He averages 51 under this regime and he averaged 49 before that. His dismissal sort of sums up where we are with Bazball. It will thrill and frustrate in equal measure."

"When he is playing those reverse-scoops to the first ball of the day of an Ashes Test, we all jump up and applaud. When he does it to Bumrah here and gets out, we all say 'what a disgrace'."

"One thing Joe will look at is the timing of that shot. Ashwin wasn't there, India are down a bowler; Jadeja is playing off the back of an injury; Bumrah is playing three Tests in a row and there is talk of him needing a rest. Bazball is about being attacking but it is also about soaking up pressure. Get Bumrah into his second or third spell, take it deep and then play the shot later in the day."

"Joe will assess his dismissal himself. That's what makes him a great player. He'll come back. He'll be absolutely fine."
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As an English batter there are a couple of career defying series if you want to be perceived as one of the greats — Aus and India away.
He may well come back but runs are needed when your team needs them the most — not against the WI and SL next year
 
gibsyhesperis said:
As an English batter there are a couple of career defying series if you want to be perceived as one of the greats — Aus and India away.
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I agree, which is why Sir Alastair Cook is often viewed as an England great despite mainly playing the same 3-4 shots throughout his career and not having an ATG batting average: because Cook was an absolute run machine on two away tours of Aus and India, with England winning both series.

To be fair to Root, he does have 5 tons in the subcontinent (2 in India) including a double ton in both Sri Lanka and India. His record in Indian / Asian conditions has generally been good. It is Australia away which is his own “final frontier” in terms of not scoring a century there yet.

He could really do with a big innings on this tour though to help England win another Test.
 
Bahnz said:
"Root is a generational talent and Williamson is an overrated home track bully"

Root avg in India and Australia: 42 and 35
Williamson avg in Australia and India: 42 and 33
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Root:

In India 42.58
In Australia 35.68
In South Africa 50.21
In New Zealand 52.53
In Sri Lanka 65.50
In West Indies 51.50

Williamson:

In India 33.53
In Australia 42.84
In South Africa 21.16
In England 30.53
In Sri Lanka 26.71
In West Indies 51.33

Number of Tests vs Bangladesh and Zimbabwe:

Root = 2 (Bangladesh) and 0 (Zimbabwe)

Williamson = 8 (Bangladesh) and 4 (Zimbabwe)

Unless someone is blind as a bat or knows nothing about cricket, it is obvious that Root is clearly a superior all-round batsman than Williamson.

Williamson has always been the weakest player in the Fab Four especially in Test cricket.
 
Mamoon said:
Root:

In India 42.58
In Australia 35.68
In South Africa 50.21
In New Zealand 52.53
In Sri Lanka 65.50
In West Indies 51.50

Williamson:

In India 33.53
In Australia 42.84
In South Africa 21.16
In England 30.53
In Sri Lanka 26.71
In West Indies 51.33

Number of Tests vs Bangladesh and Zimbabwe:

Root = 2 (Bangladesh) and 0 (Zimbabwe)

Williamson = 8 (Bangladesh) and 4 (Zimbabwe)

Unless someone is blind as a bat or knows nothing about cricket, it is obvious that Root is clearly a superior all-round batsman than Williamson.

Williamson has always been the weakest player in the Fab Four especially in Test cricket.
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Kane has not been good in most places.

Root is surely a better test bat than Kane.
 
Williamson plays the waiting game while Roots can switch gears. This is where Root is better than Williamson.
 
Stokes himself plays very slowly most of the time, especially when set
Mamoon said:
Root:

In India 42.58
In Australia 35.68
In South Africa 50.21
In New Zealand 52.53
In Sri Lanka 65.50
In West Indies 51.50

Williamson:

In India 33.53
In Australia 42.84
In South Africa 21.16
In England 30.53
In Sri Lanka 26.71
In West Indies 51.33

Number of Tests vs Bangladesh and Zimbabwe:

Root = 2 (Bangladesh) and 0 (Zimbabwe)

Williamson = 8 (Bangladesh) and 4 (Zimbabwe)

Unless someone is blind as a bat or knows nothing about cricket, it is obvious that Root is clearly a superior all-round batsman than Williamson.

Williamson has always been the weakest player in the Fab Four especially in Test cricket.
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Isn’t it strange that a batsman as good as Root forgets how to bat when his ‘captain says play aggressively’? How terrible Stokes must be to completely scare Root into playing reverse sweeps. That’s your logic.
 
I think this is more a self-inflicted pressure. Their whole theory is to keep the bowling under pressure all the time, induce error and capitalize on it. It works for them. It even worked for Root at the beginning. No way one can say Duckett/Crawley are better players than Root. But form is going good for them. Moment form deserts them they will also be in the shoes of Root. Whole reason this works because they are given the freedom to express themselves even with a few failures. Root tried conventional approach at the start of the series. Didn't work. So switched to bazball approach. Didn't work either. May be he is not in great nick or he is up against his nemesis Bumrah who has worked him over.
 
jnaveen1980 said:
I think this is more a self-inflicted pressure. Their whole theory is to keep the bowling under pressure all the time, induce error and capitalize on it. It works for them. It even worked for Root at the beginning. No way one can say Duckett/Crawley are better players than Root. But form is going good for them. Moment form deserts them they will also be in the shoes of Root. Whole reason this works because they are given the freedom to express themselves even with a few failures. Root tried conventional approach at the start of the series. Didn't work. So switched to bazball approach. Didn't work either. May be he is not in great nick or he is up against his nemesis Bumrah who has worked him over.
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I think they are in two minds whether to continue attacking with Bazball or play the proper way and frustrate the bowlers.
 
That reverse sweep against Bumrah was genius in my opinion. Here's my theory.
Bumrah has Root's number and India had packed the slips. Either Root looks to survive Bumrahs spell and risk getting out caught at slip like he has been, OR counter attack so that the slips are removed or even better Bumrah gets replaced. Slightly wider of Jaiswal and that shot was a boundary and we'd call Root a genius. Sometimes it doesn't come off.
 
Bumrah has Root's number. I think Root has gotten out to Bumrah 8-10 times in test format.
 
James said:
unfair on Crawley, Duckett and Pope who are all doing their best to contribute despite facing up to the new ball
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The best time for a batsman in India. The ball neither spinning nor reversing. Nobody capitalized on this better than Sehwag. Not saying Sehwag didn't thrash spinners anytime of the day, but...
 
Mamoon said:
Root:

In India 42.58
In Australia 35.68
In South Africa 50.21
In New Zealand 52.53
In Sri Lanka 65.50
In West Indies 51.50

Williamson:

In India 33.53
In Australia 42.84
In South Africa 21.16
In England 30.53
In Sri Lanka 26.71
In West Indies 51.33

Number of Tests vs Bangladesh and Zimbabwe:

Root = 2 (Bangladesh) and 0 (Zimbabwe)

Williamson = 8 (Bangladesh) and 4 (Zimbabwe)

Unless someone is blind as a bat or knows nothing about cricket, it is obvious that Root is clearly a superior all-round batsman than Williamson.

Williamson has always been the weakest player in the Fab Four especially in Test cricket.
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"KW had two bad tests in South Africa 12 years ago and 2 bad tests in Sri Lanka 5 years ago. Also, because Root > Williamson we can ignore all the countries where KW has done well or Root has done poorly, so no UAE, Bangladesh or Pakistan."

This kind of cursory scanning and curation of statsguru numbers is such bad analysis. Root will play as many tests in India in this series as Williamson has played there in the last 13 years. KW's never even played a 4 test series, let alone 5. The sample sizes you're working with are tiny, and there's zero acknowledgement that you're comparing apples with oranges:

1) Root's career stats were never scarred by being debuted years before he was ready.
2) He's never had to build his career at the more technically demanding number 3 spot (or at least he could never succeed at it when he tried).
3) He's never had to play a test series in South Africa in the literal middle of winter.
4) He's never had to captain his side in all 3 formats while simultaneously captaining an IPL side and nursing a chronic injury.
5) Root's never had to fly in for a 2 test series from a t20 tournament on a different continent 48 hours before the coin toss.

But hey "when in Rome", so let's indulge in some selective stats mining and look at KW's numbers. If you look at KW's numbers since he reached the age at which Root debuted the comparison becomes lopsided with Williamson averaging 59 to Root's 49 and averaging equal or more v every opponent save India). Also in away series where he's gotten to play a minimum of 3 tests:

V India 2010 - average 42.4
V WI 2014 - average 80+
V Pakistan 2014 - average 52
V Australia 2015 - average 70+
V Pakistan 2018 - average 70+

Bit of a trend there. And all that while never having a Warner, Pujara or Cook to lay a foundation for him.

Now having said all this do I think Williamson is a better batsman than Root? No. It's close but I'd rate Root slightly higher. He's definitely more naturally gifted, though Williamson is mentally stronger (KW would never let Baz bully him into batting like a maniac on a flat deck). Root's greater agression and stroke range makes him a bigger threat on tricky pitches, but it comes at the price of him being MUCH less efficient at converting his starts into big scores (see the absence of a hundred in Australia after 14 tests). There was no better example of this than at the Basin Reserve last year, when Williamson gritted his teeth and batted a day and a half to score one of the dullest, ugliest hundreds you'll ever see to set up a target, and Root than scored a sparkling 50 in response before top edging a slog with victory in sight.

Don't get me wrong, Root's a true great. But I take issue with statements like "Root is clearly the superior all-round batsman" and "Williamson has always been the weakest of the big 4." The only contemporary batsman clearly superior to Williamson is Smith and there have been times in Williamson's career (especially 2014-2016 before he took over the captain's role from Baz) when he's looked genuinely peerless.
 
Root is not doing that good with bazball stuff. He needs to go back to his usual game, set himself up on the crease, and then later on he can do whatever he wants to do. Playing a reverse shot against Bumrah was a foolish one IMO. Bumrah was breathing fire and you are trying to be cheeky, nope, not gonna happen.
 
kron said:
Gone down now. 42 or something in india
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Yep. For an overseas batsman that’s still pretty good in India. Many good batsmen have consistently failed in Indian conditions. He really needs a score soon though.
 
While Root makes himself look like a Bazzy reverse clown, the Indian batters are showing how its actually done.
 
bazball has ruined his game, but he has also genuinely struggled against indian spinners on turning pitches as seen today. averaging 15.58 in india after the double century in chennai

even in the 2016 series, the pitches were very flat.
 
An interesting question from a fan at Nasser Hussain

www.dailymail.co.uk

NASSER HUSSAIN on what England must NOT do

ASK NASSER: As England try and put this latest humiliation behind them as quickly as possible, our columnist answers your burning questions.
www.dailymail.co.uk www.dailymail.co.uk

Why does Joe Root keep throwing his wicket away? And should he bowl less too? It must be so draining in the heat

Alan Corkland, Herts

I'm not sure he keeps throwing his wicket away, Alan. Root's stats in the last year have been pretty good but he is having a difficult tour. His reverse-ramp in the first innings in Rajkot is a shot he plays a lot and gets a lot of runs with but, as I wrote on Monday, I think he could have played the situation better. I have wondered about him bowling too much. It's almost like he's paying the price for England having inexperienced spinners. Ben Stokes does need him but he must also look after him.


I think Root is treated like a specialist spinner. It makes him into an all rounder due to that. May be he is overdoing it?
 
Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel, here's what AB de Villiers had to say about why 'Bazball' had affected Joe Root's style of batting:

"When I played against him (Root), I felt he was one of the best Test batters I have ever played against. But that has changed and it's because of Bazball. I know it's a big statement but the ones that you find hardest to play against in Test match cricket are the ones who are hardest to get out. And now he is getting out on reverse sweeps and kind of blowing out of his norm. I don't like that."

"Players like these (Root) should be told , 'Listen, you just go out and play your natural game. You're the glue of this batting line-up.' Let Ben Duckett or Ben Stokes play aggressively. Let Root bat long."
 
I think it is good for root to let go of the Bazball stuff and focus on playing test cricket like he used to do earlier. Clearly, bazball was not for him.

---------------------------------------

Graeme Swann on TNT Sports:

"The most uncharacteristic thing for me with Joe is the lack of a big score so far in this series.

"He's such a good player. We're so used to him scoring a big century early on in a series - that's not happened and it brings pressure with it.

"He's batting today like he means business. He realises he is England's major hope to post a decent first-innings total.

"It won't be a classic Bazball type innings on this pitch. He'll play straight and he'll be very patient."
 
Bazball suits streaky and low technique players like Crawley, Duckett and Bairstow. Get runs quickly because there will always be a ball with their name on it. Whereas Root like he is here should just play classically and bat. He is a normal Test batsman and should just play his natural game, and remember what got him to where he is now.
 
James said:
Bazball suits streaky and low technique players like Crawley, Duckett and Bairstow. Get runs quickly because there will always be a ball with their name on it. Whereas Root like he is here should just play classically and bat. He is a normal Test batsman and should just play his natural game, and remember what got him to where he is now.
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Root playing normal cricket....

GHAY0apWEAALmUJ
 
Only the second 50+ score for Joe Root in the last 19 innings in Asia. This is his 20th 50+ score in Tests against India - joint most alongside Ricky Ponting.

There is another battle going on atm. Ashwin vs Root.

Most runs scored off Ashwin in Tests in India
324 J Root (Avg 64.80*)
314 A Cook (44.85)
204 B Stokes (20.40)
193 S Smith (38.60)
162 D Bravo (32.40)
 
Joe Root achieved his 31st Test century against India during the 4th Test in Ranchi, making history as the first player in Test cricket to hit 10 centuries against India.
 
Alastair Cook speaks on a sports channel on:

"A great knock, full of the traditional Root quality, tempo, and ability to play the right shot at the right time. For a guy who probably went into this Test match with a really cluttered mind, he played in a very uncluttered way. It was a very emotionless Root. It will be interesting to see what he says about this hundred, given all of the stuff that has gone on before, the talk about his shot selection, and the way he has played. Great players respond, and he has responded with runs."
 
Surprise surpise as soon as he ditches bazball he's back in form. Always said he should be an exception to the rule.

Let the others play their shots, Root is better playing classical test cricket.
 
FearlessRoar said:
Joe Root achieved his 31st Test century against India during the 4th Test in Ranchi, making history as the first player in Test cricket to hit 10 centuries against India.
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Joe Root's strategic shift away from Bazball methods proved pivotal as he orchestrated England's resurgence with an impressive unbeaten century, guiding them to a resilient 302/7 at stumps on day 1 in the 4th Test against India. His steadfast innings stands at an unbeaten 106 from 226 deliveries.
 
Joe Root joins the ranks as the joint fourth-fastest player to reach 19,000 international runs in terms of innings played. He achieved this milestone during day 1 of the 4th Test against India with his 31st Test century.

QCJ2Zke.jpg
 
Wonderful knock.
whilst helped (obviously) by Bumrah’s absence, he played an innings of character.
and he did it his way — SR less than 50 for the whole innings; none of the Bazball nonsense — he’s too good for that.
 
4322 runs to go to break Sachin's test batting record.
He is just 33 plus . He needs 2 good years and 2 average years to break it .

Personally I want Root to do so
 
Finally, he ditched the Bazball nonsense and he scored a hundred. This Bazball clownery works for batsmen like Crawley, Bairstrow who aren’t test level batsmen, but for proper test batsmen like Root, it is a massive disadvantage for them.
 
'Playing the situation’ helped Root carve stellar 31st Test hundred

Joe Root’s unbeaten 122 led England to a commanding position in the fourth Test against India in Ranchi.

Arriving at 47/2, Root saw his side slide to 112/5 within the first session of play with veteran teammates like Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes already back in the hut.

What followed was a knock filled with conventional strokeplay, that helped Root to his first Test century in an otherwise lean series. He had previously scored merely 77 runs from six innings and had also copped criticism for playing unconventional shots.

An instance of this was seen in Rajkot when Root tried to hit Jasprit Bumrah with a reverse scoop in the first innings but ended up giving a catch to Yashasvi Jaiswal in the slips. England slipped from a strong 224/2 to 319 all out.

In contrast, Root was visibly patient in Ranchi, batting at a strike rate of 44.52. However, Root believed that he was merely playing the situation and executed the shots that were required on the surface.

“That's how I try and play every game really,” Root said at the end of the second day’s play. “Trying to play the conditions, the situation of the game. And it was very obvious what was needed in that situation on that surface. And thankfully, it paid off."

This was his 31st Test hundred, making him the batter with the second most Test hundreds among current cricketers, sitting behind only the joint-first position holders, Kane Williamson and Steve Smith (32 each). It was also his 10th hundred against India, making him the batter with the most Test centuries against the team.

“It's been nice to contribute this week. It has been a lean series for me. So I was desperate to try and get some runs for the guys, and it was nice to do that today. And hopefully, that can continue for the rest of the series now.”

Root was unfazed about the criticism that he had received over his usage of the reverse scoop, stating that he didn’t mind the selection of the particular shot, but rather its execution,

“Certainly the execution of the shots has weighed on me. Not necessarily the selection but the execution. I'm better than that.

“Batting is about outscoring the opposition, scoring more runs to give yourselves the best chance of winning. If you get out, you're out, and it doesn't matter what it looks like.”

Root was pleased at having delivered with the bat in trying circumstances,

“If it's your main skill, you want to be delivering and you want to be standing up and performing.

“It was special, given that in the morning the wicket was doing all sorts against that hard ball. So when you went in, you really had to work hard, in the first half-hour especially. They're the ones that mean most when you have to really work hard for it, and you're trying to dig your team out of a little bit of a situation.”

After being bowled out for 353, England struck with the ball on the back of their spinners. Shoaib Bashir (4/84) and Tom Hartley (2/47) had reduced India to 219/7 at the end of the second day’s play.

India lead the five-Test series 2-1.

ICC
 
Joe Root has scored 91 fifty-plus scores in tests. He surpasses England's legend batter, Alastair Cook for the record.
 
Must have taken a genius in England camp to figure out that an all-time great Test batsman should be allowed to play proper Test cricket. Who would have thought.
 
Mamoon said:
Must have taken a genius in England camp to figure out that an all-time great Test batsman should be allowed to play proper Test cricket. Who would have thought.
Click to expand...
But don’t you think that a player of Root’s calibre arguablyin the top five English batsman of all time) should have been mentally tough enough to have played the way he felt best ?
It just seems to me inconceivable that Stokes/ McCollum would dictate to a player with 30 Test centuries how to play.
If Root had said this is how I play, this is what has made me the player I am and I intend to continue they surely would have agreed
 
It was a quality innings from a world class player, on an interesting pitch which has played some occasional tricks, but I can’t help feeling that (unusually for Joe with his Test centuries) it will ultimately come in a losing cause, and I know that consequently Joe won’t rate this one as highly as he perhaps should.
 
Joe Root spoke to the press after Day 3 stumps of the 4th Test:

"There have been times recently when the best way to do that is by being a bit more aggressive. It's like if I connect with that shot and execute it better, (Jasprit) Bumrah will be under pressure and our outlook on the game is very different again."
 
Soldiering on - another fifty - but to what end?
 
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