RANCHI: ‘…stupidest shot in the history of English Test history’, ‘should play his normal game’, ‘doesn’t have to play Bazball’ — these were some of the comments directed at Joe Root by former cricketers and media after he got out trying a reverse scoop against Jasprit Bumrah. That was during the third Test in Rajkot. If on one hand there was criticism, Root, backed by statistics, has managed to garner support as well. As Ranchi Test beckons, the focus is on Root and his shot selection.
On Wednesday — two days ahead of the Ranchi Test expected to be played on a spinner-friendly surface — Root was going through his batting rituals in the nets. During his first stint, Root was sticking to the basics. Shorter stance against throwdowns and pacers, facing the ball under his eyes — defending, pushing and flicking.
Against spinners, he had a wider stance with the bat tapping near his backfoot, played with a straighter bat even when he tried to step out to loft or to flick. Otherwise, all Root was doing was playing the drives and punches and flicks, one or two inside-out shots — all with a straight bat. Just like his batting, there was an essence of melody to his practice.
After about 25 minutes, Root was sitting near Test head coach Brendon McCullum having a chat from time to time and then played umpire when Dan Lawrence was batting. About an hour later, after almost everyone left, he was at the nets again. This time, it was just with local net spin bowlers and Jeetan Patel (spin bowling consultant). Ten minutes into his routine, the reverse sweep came out. Most of them were hits, but there were a few misses too. There were lofts down the ground and leg-side as well.
Against Patel’s off-spin, Root took to the orthodox slog sweep, used his feet to drive and loft, shuffled across to punch off the backfoot, the regular workarounds while having some conversations in between. By the time he was done, Root brought out the all-ground, full-blooded sweeps and hit them well.
The only way to silence criticism is through results and for Root it is runs and more runs. One of the finest England batters in the team is working hard towards that goal. The criticism for his reverse ramp that cost him his wicket that triggered an English collapse and the match eventually, may have been a bit harsh. According to the numbers from ESPNCricinfo, until that dismissal in Rajkot, Root had scored 60 runs of 22 balls from reverse sweeps/scoops against fast bowlers with one dismissal to show — against New Zealand’s Neil Wagner. This indicates that Root has worked enough on the shot.
Kevin Sharp, one of Root’s first coach at Yorkshire, felt that the way the soft dismissals appeared may have attracted criticisms.
“It looks to me that he miss-executed a couple of shots at a critical moment and when your senior batter does this it is always open to criticism. Joe is a human being like everyone else and will occasionally make a mistake,” Sharp told this daily.
“Of course criticism will come if what appears to be a higher risk doesn’t work. If it does work everyone is happy and it’s a great shot.”
To be fair, numbers go back Root. From the beginning of Bazball era till end of 2023, Root averaged 58.73 in 18 Tests (Strike rate 75.63) as opposed to his career average of 49.32. Now, the problem comes this year, which began with the India series. In these three games, he averages 12.83 with a high score of 29. So, it just seems like he has gone through a lean patch for three games — but with the result not going England’s way, Root is getting the flack. Which is why, when Sharp says there is absolutely nothing to be changed technically, he has a point.
“His technique does not appear to have changed. As good a player as he is, he is always looking for ways to improve, increase his shot selection and make it more difficult for the bowlers. He is one of the world’s best players and I don’t think it will be too long before he dominates again. It’s always a matter of working out the game situation and the difference between lower and higher risk in shot selections and then making the correct choice at the time,” said Sharp.
There is still one more day to go for the Ranchi Test, and it is not clear how the pitch is going to play. But what seems to be clear though is that Root’s string of low scores has a lot more to do with shot selection than anything else. As Sharp said it is only a matter of time before Root makes a comeback. A fine batter he is when he does one should not be surprised to see lucrative adjectives directed at him to sing his praises.