Such is the nature of top-level sport that it is perhaps predictable that Joe Root\u2019s overhauling of Sir Alastair Cook\u2019s England record of Test centuries should lead to many commentators turning their focus toward the Yorkshireman\u2019s supposed Achilles heel at Test level: his record against Australia. Specifically, where the doubters are concerned, is the Dore-born maestro\u2019s record in Australia itself. An overall record of 40.46 against Australia over 34 Tests includes 14 matches Down Under where Root has yet to score a century and averages 35.68. Root\u2019s record against the other established Test playing countries \u2013 India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and West Indies – is enviable, and statistical proof of his undoubted class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The spotlight on Joe Root\u2019s record against Australia is a natural byproduct of an intense Ashes rivalry. However, compared with the record of one of his fellow members of \u201cThe Big Four\u201d club in Kane Williamson, the one relative blemish on Root\u2019s track record seems less stark than it might otherwise appear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The current appraisal of Root comes as part of the year-long sabre-rattling ahead of another Anglo-Australian clash, beginning in November 2025. Former Australian left-hander Darren Lehmann and \u2013 to no one\u2019s surprise \u2013 Ian Chappell, a man seldom short of a cricketing opinion, have weighed in on Root. Lehmann has stated that Root should not be considered an all-time great since he has yet to make a Test ton in Australia and has even placed the Yorkshireman a rung below Williamson and Virat Kohli. Chapelli, meanwhile, is full of praise for the former England captain, saying \u201cRoot was born to make runs. He\u2019s a joy to watch, as he balances a solid technique with the desire to core at every opportunity<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Technically, though, Chappell has observed a flaw in the Root armoury which could account for his less flattering record on Australian pitches, arguing \u201cthe more worrying statistic in Australia is the number of times he\u2019s caught behind. Keepers have had a bonanza as ten times they\u2019ve clasped Root\u2019s edges in 27 innings. While he could counter with \u201cyou\u2019ve got to be good enough to nick \u2018em\u201d, it does suggest he needs to re-assess the extra bounce Australian pitches provide.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Lack of centuries aside, it is worth noting that Root has notched nine half-centuries against the Australians. Compared with Kane Williamson, Root\u2019s overall record against the Aussies is superior \u2013 40.46 as opposed to an average of 36.95 for the New Zealander. Against India, Williamson\u2019s record is considerably the inferior, with an average of 37.86 over 20 runs fewer than Root\u2019s 58.03, while on a head-to-head against each other\u2019s country Root has a mean of 54.06 as opposed to Williamson\u2019s 39.62 against England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Batting against South Africa, West Indies, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, the Kiwi has the statistical edge over the Yorkshireman. However, an average of 62.82 for Williamson against South Africa and 46.53 for the Englishman against the same opposition does not exactly embarrass Root. Neither do direct comparisons against Pakistan (66.04 and 49.34), Sri Lanka (74.02 and 62.54), and West Indies (60.62 versus 56.03).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Where Williamson has a definite edge is in his accumulation of two Test hundreds against the Australians. As for Ian Chappell\u2019s thoughts on Root\u2019s adaptability to Australian surfaces, the New Zealander, by contrast, is acknowledged as having a very specific approach, quite distinct from his peers. Eschewing an exaggerated lunge in the forward push, Williamson\u2019s initial movement is firm yet not as pronounced as his contemporaries. Equally key is the ability to play the ball late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ricky Ponting has observed that Williamson \u201cdoesn\u2019t make a big stride forward<\/em>\u201d and that he \u201cplays the ball later than anyone<\/em>\u201d. Former England captain Nasser Hussain, assessing Williamson\u2019s technical prowess, noted the economy of movement, hand positioning and footwork that are the bedrock of his success. Advancing the theory of an imaginary \u201cbox\u201d Hussain noted \u201cimagine you\u2019ve got a box round about your waist height and just below. If you get your hands outside that box you\u2019re playing the ball early. If you can keep it in your box, you\u2019re playing it late\u201d. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Hands positioned outside the imaginary \u201cbox\u201d would also, Hussain argued, increase the likelihood of following the ball outside the off stump and nicking a chance to \u2018keeper and slips. Hussain was in little doubt that it is this compactness which has contributed to Kane Williamson’s success. Maybe a similar adjustment by Root on Australian wickets would pay dividends and give credence to Chappelli’s view that the England man needs to re-assess the bounce on those surfaces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n What will ultimately deliver that much sought after Ashes century for Joe Root is the method Ian Chappell so eulogised. It is a technique shaped by the modern age, but also one which begins from first principles and is a method which, at its core, is a product of the Yorkshire sod which produced some of the greatest batting technicians in the history of the game. When Neville Cardus described Sir Leonard Hutton as someone who played with a \u201cblueprint in his mind<\/em>\u201d he could easily be describing Joe Root almost 70 years later. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Stylistically Root\u2019s Yorkshire cricketing lineage is apparent in everything from the light grip on the bat handle to the legs-apart stance at the crease, while the balance on the balls of the feet is redolent of Sir Geoffrey Boycott himself. Alert, side-on, and able to transfer to the back and front foot with easy dexterity, Root displays a classicism that stretches back to Hutton and Sutcliffe, though to Boycott, Bill Athey, and now Harry Brook, a method which is so typical of his home county. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Watching footage of Mike Gatting\u2019s England in Australia on their victorious 1986\/87 tour, the likeness between Athey and Root is startling. Sure enough, Root\u2019s gifts are of a rarified nature in contrast with Athey\u2019s narrower mode of operation, but the essential Yorkshire boilerplate of stance, footwork, and positioning bears the stamp of the White Rose county.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like Williamson Root\u2019s busy nature at the crease and innovative strokeplay are indicative of a player who has grown up in a multi-format cricketing landscape. As such, the gasp-inducing classical strokes which were once so typical of Root\u2019s English antecedents like Hammond, May, Cowdrey, Dexter, and Gower are perhaps not so evidently at the fore of his repertoire. Instead, tellingly, the Root audience will marvel at the deployment of the ramp and its reverse iteration, both strokes it is difficult to imagine his illustrious predecessors attempting, although the pioneering Dexter might well have added such shots to his range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Joe Root is England\u2019s finest modern player and a titan of the current batting landscape. The disparity between his overall record and his figures against Australia are certainly tangible, although not, say, as marked as Ian Botham\u2019s record against West Indies and his achievements against the rest. If the Yorkshireman takes on board the observations of Ian Chappell next winter maybe his wait for a Test hundred against the old foe will come to an end. In the week that Root and fellow Yorkshireman Harry Brook sit atop the men\u2019s ICC Test batting rankings, his followers will take heart that this modern batting great has still plenty left in the tank and, maybe, a bit to prove.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Gareth Bland looks at the Yorkshire batting lineage of Joe Root while examining the gap in his illustrious CV: the lack of an Ashes Test hundred <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":25132,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[196,163],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jbvip365.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25131"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jbvip365.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jbvip365.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jbvip365.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jbvip365.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25131"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/jbvip365.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25131\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25180,"href":"https:\/\/jbvip365.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25131\/revisions\/25180"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jbvip365.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jbvip365.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jbvip365.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jbvip365.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}