3 minute read
You wouldn’t think there would be much nervous tension if a man with 39 Test hundreds went back into the 90s and perhaps scored a 40th. But there was. Luckily for all of us, very boring asterisks against career records and the prospect of Matthew Hayden doing a lap at the MCG with his tackle out can now both be forgotten.
It is not outside the realm of possibility that the fear of seeing Hayden’s furry saddlebags swinging beneath his cowboy hat united the players from England and Australia in a powerful collective desire to get Root to three figures. It is also possible that Root is a good batsman who can make Test hundreds, even in Australian conditions, where the almighty cumulative power of his nothing shot works against him more often than not.
The end result was a failure. Not living up to its reputation. Root’s scoring for England is so firmly established and predictable that it can no longer be classified as newsworthy. But in Brisbane, during the second Ashes Test, thanks to a long record when he came to Australia to get fifties, he unusually made headlines for reaching another century.
This wasn’t a ‘Joe Root also made a hundred’ day.
It’s unusual territory for Root: people are paying him more than the most perfunctory attention. He really deserves it.
Those who really kept an eye on things then witnessed a second failure. With 40 minutes to go and nine wickets behind, England were looking forward to playing Australia’s openers. (A much more attractive prospect than getting an Australian opener.) Crucially, though, Ben Stokes wouldn’t declare – nine wickets behind, day one. Ashes declarations have historically not worked for him. The task, therefore, was to throw caution to the wind; make some quick runs; and then leave.
Jofra Archer engaged the long lever, while Root shifted into reverse and started enjoying himself.
Joe Root? Joe Hoot more like.
Unfortunately, although the two successfully fulfilled the “quick runs” part of the agreement, they completely failed to get out of it.
This despite the best efforts of Archer, who selflessly skied a ski that could very easily have been taken by Alex Carey or Marnus Labuschagne, but both left for the other – an odd decision considering the two had been virtually intertwined when Carey caught Gus Atkinson.
If it works, stick with it. Gather your limbs and take the catch, boys.
Coming back to the issue at hand, did you know that Joe Root has never made a hundred in Bangladesh? Or in Ireland. Batting Test hundreds in Australia is easy – at least he gets a chance to bat there.
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