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CHENNAI: Watching Joe Root bat in Test cricket is like sitting in a theatre for a feel-good movie. Even more so when he is in his element, controlling what happens around him; there is a pleasantness to it that makes you feel everything is fine with the word even if you are rooting for Root's opponent.
Last week was one such week where the English batter had back-to-back blockbusters during the ongoing home series against Sri Lanka. Yes, often it is just about watching Root going about his business in England whites, but there was more to it this time.
In a span of five days, Root not just equalled Alaistair Cook to become the England batter with most Test centuries. In the process, he joined an elite list of Sunil Gavaskar, Mahela Jayawardene, Brian Lara and Younis Khan with 34 hundreds.
Root getting here is not the biggest of surprises.
He was always the blue-eyed boy of England cricket and was on course to get here, sometimes in competition with the other three of the 'Fab Four' (Virat Kohli, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson), especially with the number of Test matches England play.
But between 2018 and 2020, he had hit a slump. In those three years, he averaged 39.7 while his contemporaries were having a blast. He was the captain of a team in transition, the results were not coming. It had bogged him down to an extent.
Post-COVID, something he admitted to have changed him drastically, things changed. Kohli and Smith were struggling, but Root turned the tide.
Since 2021, he has hit 17 centuries, which is exactly how much Kohli (2), Smith (6) and Williamson (9) have scored combined, although Williamson plays much fewer Tests than others. Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum came along and he thrived even better. Yes, he had a brief lull in India for three matches, but that is about it. A record-breaking run that has taken him to a peak where no England batter has gone to.
Kevin Sharp, Root's childhood coach, is a happy man.
Speaking to TNIE, Sharp said, "I've known Joe since he was 12. Obviously, I've monitored his progress. It's just been a pleasure to see him become one of the world's greatest ever."
"The boy had a real love of the game and a love of batting. Even when he was captain, I know the team weren't at their best, but he still made runs. He's been able to settle into the role of a senior player in the team, and he's still been a leader in that respect. He just loves being at the crease. He wants to bat for a long time. He wants to show people that he can play. He enjoys being on television, enjoys showing people he can bat. Having said that, he's a very humble person, and he cares about other people and he cares about his teammates as well," he continued.
What makes Root's progression all the more significant is the transformation in his conversation rate. For the first six years of his Test career, Root had as many as 45 fifties but less than half in terms of hundreds (17). Since then, he has 17 centuries and 19 fifties.
Sharp believes the environment Stokes and McCullum have created has played its part as well. "He's obviously enjoying the environment within that England team, as they all seem to be. They want their players to express themselves in the way that they see fit, and he's in his prime now. He's a mature player and he's got a lot left in him yet. As long as he's motivated, he could make runs for a long time," he says.
That Root is the youngest of the Fab Four and is only 33 brings up the inevitable question of whether he will be the one to go past Sachin Tendulkar. Several names have been discussed in the past as well, including Cook, but they have all faded away. For the first time in a long while, someone seems to have a realistic chance.
Root (12377) is only 3544 runs shy of Tendulkar (15921), and he will play 17 more Tests before the end of the 2025 season. For all you know, he might enter the all-time top five (he is now seventh) in the next Test against Sri Lanka (it begins on Friday).
"You never know. It'll be all about motivation. But I have a feeling that he'll want to play at the highest level for as long as he possibly can, as long as he's fit enough. So he could finish up as the world's greatest ever, couldn't he? While Root's place in the pantheon of Test batters is safe, is he already the greatest England has ever produced? "Well, he's not far away," says Sharp.
"I suppose when he actually finishes playing, we'll know that for certain. But I mean, if you look at his last two innings, he looks so composed, he looks so much in control, and he looks to have so much time. I suppose time will tell."