Joe Root

Root survived two early scares before bringing up a 150-ball century, which included 15 fours, to help England recover from 17 for two, and then 76 for four, ...

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Joe Root has revealed that Ben Stokes has asked England to play like "rockstars" and the pair shared a celebration inspired by the new Elvis Presley film ...

I’ve brought his mentality and his ethos into this Test environment and everyone has responded so well to it.” “You’re playing for England. You’re doing something that you did as a kid as a hobby and now you’re playing for your country. And in the week that Eoin Morgan retired as an England captain, it is clear that his legacy is having far reaching consequences.

Joe Root explains why England players have been wiggling their little finger as a tribute to their coach Brendon McCullum.

As things turned out, Judge Gooding’s son would become a huge Elvis fan, and have his posters on the walls of his room. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to feel or look like a rock star, but for 10 seconds I might have done today (laughter). That was what the little pinky was about. “I am going to put him in jail”. But that was the last such move Elvis would do that day. “The Yorkshireman inside me is still saying ‘dig in, play straight and get behind it’,” said Root, shadowing a forward defensive shot. He would unfurl lap shots to seamers over third man and to fine-leg region. An uproar had erupted in the conservative circles and he was taken to meet the judge Gooding before the performance. “They won’t allow me to do this here,” he told the audience. The wiggling little finger replaced the usual erotic movements. Certainly, the brand of cricket English are playing has been sexy all right. “Ben (England coach Brendan McCullum) has wanted us to be entertainers, he’s mentioned trying to be ‘rock stars’ on the field,” Root said at the end after leading England’s gung-ho run chase for 378. Just a few months before that, the young Elvis had launched himself into public imagination and notoriety. Soon after racking up a match winning ton, with lap shots and reverse sweeps, England’s talismanic batsman Joe Root looked towards the dressing room and wiggled his little finger.

Bazballism has understandably won admirers but it was Root that set the stage for the beguiling drama to unfold. At the centre of New England is still the ...

The reverse-scooped six off Shardul Thakur was merely a decoration, or a mere reminder that we are living in the age of Joe Root. And at the centre of New England is still the old hand. The set-up is especially useful against a short-of-length peddler like Bumrah, in that he gets more time to play them on the back-foot and guide them over slips or third man. This smoothness of the shot hides the difficulty of execution, more so against as devious and quick a bowler as Bumrah. The set-up helps. A heap of wickets and England could be nursing the scars of another caving in. He just wanted to show the world the celestial world of his batsmanship, the elusive chords he strums with the bat. If a picture indeed painted a thousand words, Root driving one the bended knee, spoke thousand more times about his batting than the absurd numbers he had racked up this series. In touch, in the divinest touch of his career, he flows as smoothly and serenely as a river. It seemed predestined that Root would salvage the series for England. For he was so desperate to draw the series after the meltdown in Oval, whereupon his captaincy was ripped apart. That he’s the ringmaster of Birmingham. And fittingly, he struck the winning runs, with a reverse sweep, swelling his series tally to 737 at an average of 105, and a strike rate that syncs with Brendon McCullum’s attacking ideals. That the Indian seam-maestro came not even remotely close to troubling him, let alone dismissing him captures the story of Root’s incredible mastery. In the end Bazballism won admirers, impressed critics and muted the still critiquing diatribe, but it was Root that set the stage for the beguiling drama to unfold.

Joe Root inspired England to their highest ever fourth-innings run-chase, then admitted Ben Stokes had encouraged his players to become 'rock stars' as they ...

‘They’ve come here on the back of three wins against New Zealand, and we’ve had a long gap between Tests, but no excuses. Let’s go and get people to fall in love with Test cricket again. You’re playing for England. You’re doing something you did as a kid, and now you’re playing for your country. ‘Before the game, Ben said: “We’re going to chase.” When you’ve done it once, that does make it easier. It’s how it should be, and hopefully the way we’re playing can inspire youngsters to take up the game and enjoy it.’ ‘I don’t think I’ll ever be able to feel or look like a rock star but for 10 seconds I might have done today.

Joe Root has revealed England captain Ben Stokes has inspired his record-breaking Test team to play “like rock stars”. By Rory Dollard.

“It’s about trying to have fun and really relishing every opportunity you get to showcase what you’re about and put on a show for everyone. After taking in the applause, Root raised his hand to the air and wiggled his little finger at the dressing room, making reference to a scene from the new Elvis Presley movie. It was a little tribute to him.”

Joe Root said England were 'still heading into the unknown' after he led them into uncharted waters by serenely steering them to the highest successful ...

We’ve been very good over the last few years in terms of being able to take wickets and win Test matches, but we haven’t been able to do it over the last few months. It’s very rare that you have five really good days in a row – but when you get your chance you’ve got to really make it count.” “I think once you’ve done it once, you know you can do it and you prove to yourself to you can. They did that better than us and they deserved to win. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to feel or look like a rock star, but for 10 seconds I might have done today.” Ben Stokes said: “There was a bit of me that wanted India to get to 450 to see what we would do.” And Root’s matter-of-fact assessment was: “We knew whatever they set us we’re going to chase it down.”

Joe Root has revealed England captain Ben Stokes has inspired his record-breaking Test team to play “like rock stars”. England went head to head with the ...

We were always going to try and win a game. Chasing 378 seven weeks ago would have been a scary thing for us to look at but we knew what we were going to try and do. “It’s about trying to have fun and really relishing every opportunity you get to showcase what you’re about and put on a show for everyone. We’ve just got to keep trusting and believing in what we’re doing. But his adoption of an outrageous reverse ramp this summer has shown he is willing to turn up the volume. It was a little tribute to him.”

England cruised home to secure one of their most famous Test run chases to date courtesy of centuries from Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root.

Attacked in the first innings by Pant, who loves taking him down. Took some frightful first innings tap from Jasprit Bumrah, but picked a couple of handy wickets up in the second. Frustrating dismissal in the first innings and irritating to run Lees out. Some of England’s tactics are frustrating, but they generally work in the end. Desperate first innings dismissal, the latest in a long line. Lees is going nicely, and really set the tone in the second innings.

Former captain made chasing a big total look straightforward against India as Stokes's side revel in a new way of thinking.

“There’s a lot of people saying a lot of things,” Elvis says in Lurhmann’s version of the story, “but in the end, you’ve got to listen to yourself.” Or failing that, to your captain. The only thing as predictable as the I‑told‑you‑so’s that will follow when it happens is the way Stokes will reply to them. The first time it happened, at Melbourne in 1928, the innings was spread over three days’ play, Herbert Sutcliffe batted for six‑and‑a‑half hours and they still had to weather a late collapse which meant they had only three wickets left at the end of the match. Root admitted after his innings here that a little voice in his head is saying the very same sort of stuff the rest of us were thinking. “The Yorkshireman inside of me is still there saying dig in and play straight,” Root said. They had made more than 325 to win in the fourth innings in exactly two of them.

The Yorkshire pair put on an unbroken 269 in an England-record run chase of 378 for three.

In total he has 2,635 runs at 61.27 since the start of last year, with 11 hundreds and five fifties. He made 154 and 30 against New Zealand then 333 and 123 in an astonishing Lord’s Test against India, following up with 116 at Old Trafford. Sharma missed the fifth Test due to Covid-19. Nobody has ever made five hundreds in six England innings. Earlier hundreds against Australia in January and the Windies in March give Bairstow six in eight Tests this year – as many as he had made in his 79 Tests up to the end of 2021. Bairstow has emerged as the face of Brendon McCullum’s England revolution, first against New Zealand and now in the series-saving catch-up Test against India.

The Yorkshire pair put on an unbroken 269 in an England-record run chase of 378 for three.

In total he has 2,635 runs at 61.27 since the start of last year, with 11 hundreds and five fifties. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Sharma missed the fifth Test due to Covid-19. He made 154 and 30 against New Zealand then 333 and 123 in an astonishing Lord’s Test against India, following up with 116 at Old Trafford. Nobody has ever made five hundreds in six England innings. By clicking ‘Register’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice.

The Yorkshire pair put on an unbroken 269 in an England-record run chase of 378 for three.

In total he has 2,635 runs at 61.27 since the start of last year, with 11 hundreds and five fifties. He made 154 and 30 against New Zealand then 333 and 123 in an astonishing Lord’s Test against India, following up with 116 at Old Trafford. Sharma missed the fifth Test due to Covid-19. Nobody has ever made five hundreds in six England innings. Earlier hundreds against Australia in January and the Windies in March give Bairstow six in eight Tests this year – as many as he had made in his 79 Tests up to the end of 2021. Bairstow has emerged as the face of Brendon McCullum’s England revolution, first against New Zealand and now in the series-saving catch-up Test against India.