New Delhi: Former Australia cricketer Ian Chappell believes premier England batter Joe Root’s phenomenal run-making will be challenged by India and Australia in the next 12 months.
Right-handed batter Root has 12716 runs in 148 Test matches, including hitting ten centuries in last 2.5 years, and has already surpassed Sir Alastair Cook to become England’s leading run-getter in Tests.
“Root was born to make runs and posted a highly respectable 73 in his first Test innings, in India. He’s a joy to watch, as he balances a solid technique with the desire to score at every opportunity. The glue to England’s rapid scoring has been Root, who is prepared to compile big innings while some of his team-mates take the wrecking ball to the opposition attack.
“Root’s phenomenal run-making will again be tested when first he faces India at home and then Australia away. In those two series Root will be facing the best attacks in Test cricket, and his technique against both pace and spin will again be fully scrutinised. Those are difficult challenges that Root and England will face in the future. Currently they’re desperately involved in a bid to win after Pakistan levelled their three-game series with a spin-revolution victory against a clueless England,” wrote Chappell in his column for ESPNCricinfo.
He also pointed out about Root has yet to score a Test century in Australia, despite becoming a regular fixture in England’s batting line-up. “One of the few anomalies in Root’s record is his failure to score a Test century in Australia despite having played 27 innings there. His last chance to rectify that statistic will likely come in 2025-26, when – barring injury or retirement – he will play another Ashes series.”
“It’s not as though Root has performed poorly in Australia, as his average of around 35 is respectable. However, the lack of a century despite making nine scores in excess of 50 is most unlike Root. In Australia, the four main bowlers have dismissed Root a number of times and this could be pointed to as a weakness. Nevertheless there’s an easy answer: if you’re going to be dismissed, it’s preferable to get out to a good bowler.
“The more worrying Root statistic in Australia is the number of times he’s been caught behind. Keepers have had a bonanza as ten times they’ve clasped Root’s edges in just 27 innings. While he could counter with “you’ve got to be good enough to nick ’em”, it does suggest he needs to re-assess the extra bounce Australian pitches provide,” concluded Chappell.
–IANS