5 times Joe Root got out playing the lap shot in Tests
Amidst all the thrills and spills of the ongoing India-England Test series, a constant topic of discussion has been around the effect of the Bazball theory on Joe Root's batting.
Coming into existence after Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes took over as England's coach and captain in mid-2022, the side have adopted an all-out attacking batting approach in Tests. While the overall team results have been positive, it seems to have had a detrimental effect lately on England's star batter Joe Root's performances.
With over 11,000 Test runs at an average of almost 50 in a stellar career, the 33-year-old is arguably England's all-time best Test batter. And contrary to common belief, Root's average is slightly higher at 51.51 in 21 Tests than his overall average during the Bazball era.
However, the style seems to have impacted him recently, with the talismanic batter failing to register a three-figure score in his last 13 innings.
The most noticeable difference in Root's batting since the beginning of the Bazball era is his willingness to play unorthodox shots, especially the sweeps, laps, ramp, and reverse ramps, to name a few.
While he has pulled those audacious shots off several times to make the bowler go off-guard, it has also cost his wicket at some of the most inopportune times in a Test match.
Joe Root has also received criticism for throwing his wicket away while playing those shots when he rose to greatness playing in classical Test-match mode. However, he has pointed out how he averages much more playing the lap/sweep/ramp shots than a forward defence.
Yet, much to the chagrin of English fans, here are five instances when Joe Root got out playing the lap shot in Test cricket.
#1 3rd Test vs India, 2024
Joe Root's most recent failed attempt at the lap shot came in the ongoing third Test against India at Rajkot.
With England coasting at 224/2 in response to India's 445 in the first innings, the veteran batter endured a rush of blood moment against his chief nemesis, Jasprit Bumrah, at the start of Day 3.
Root tried to play a reverse scoop off a fullish ball outside off-stump only to find Yashasvi Jaiswal at second slip to be dismissed for a third time in the series against Bumrah.
His ungainly dismissal sparked a horrific collapse as England lost their final eight wickets for 95 runs to fall for 319 and hand India a 126-run lead. In a lean run, Root is averaging a dismal 14 with the bat in five innings thus far in the series.
#2 1st Test vs New Zealand, 2023
Perhaps the most talked about ramp-shot dismissal of Joe Root until the ongoing India Test was that off Neil Wagner in the first Test of England's tour of New Zealand last year.
With Bazball at the peak of its prowess, the right-handed batter tried to reverse-ramp left-arm pacer Neil Wagner over the slip cordon, similar to his attempt against Bumrah.
However, Wagner's angle meant Root did not get the ideal elevation on the shot and could only hit it straight to Daryl Mitchell at a wide first slip. The Yorkshire-born batter had just executed the ramp shot a few overs before against Wagner and pulled it off successfully for a boundary.
Yet, it was not second time lucky for Root as he fell for only 14 despite England eventually going on and winning the match by 267 runs.
The champion batter even spoke about the hardships of the approach later last year by saying:
"The hardest thing to hone with that shot was being terrified of getting it wrong and looking stupid in a Test match. The other hardest thing was playing it the next time having got out in Mount Maunganui. I'm sure there were people out there giving me pelters."
At the time, Root had an excellent success rate in over a year of playing scoop shots. He had scored 60 runs from the 19 scoops played since with 12 boundaries, half of which had gone the distance.
#3 1st Test vs India, 2024
Joe Root's struggles in the ongoing Indian tour started thanks to one of his poorly executed sweep shots in the first Test in Hyderabad.
Coming into the series with an outstanding record against India in Tests, the 33-year-old immediately got into his groove and raced to 29. However, he top-edged a sweep off Ravindra Jadeja to be caught by Jasprit Bumah at short fine leg.
The dismissal saw England sink to 125/5 and then 246 all-out in their first innings. Yet, Root made amends with the ball, picking up five wickets in the match to propel England to a memorable 28-run victory.
#4 2nd Test vs Pakistan, 2022
The Pakistan tour was an early validation of England's Bazball method as the side completed a 3-0 whitewash of the hosts at the end of 2022.
After winning the first Test, England enjoyed a 79-run first-innings lead in the following outing. In an attempt to increase their lead further, Joe Root played a pre-meditated lap off Abrar Ahmed in the second innings, only to see his stint cut short on 21.
The champion batter got down and across to a length ball outside off-stump to play a lap shot fine. However, he couldn't pull off the necessary angle and struck the delivery to Abdullah Shafique at short leg, who took a brilliant diving catch.
Here is a clipping of the dismissal at the [4:58] mark of the below highlights video.
The dismissal came at a crucial time when England's lead was only 158 with seven wickets remaining. Yet, they wiggled their way to a score of 275 and set up a daunting target of 355 to complete a 26-run victory.
#5 1st Test vs Pakistan, 2022
Joe Root fell to the sweep shot in the first Test of England's tour of Pakistan in 2022.
However, the nature of the dismissal wasn't as questionable, considering the game situation. On a batting beauty at Rawalpindi, the two teams scored 657 and 579 in their respective first innings.
Yet, England were not ready to accept a draw and decided to go after the bowling again in the second innings. Root raced along to 73 off just 68 balls before top-edging a sweep to a delivery way down the leg side to be caught by Imam-ul-Haq at short backward square.
Check out the dismissal at the [4:20] mark of the below video:
Despite falling to the sweep shot, Root's fast-paced innings helped England set the hosts a stiff target of 343 in a day and 20 overs. Pakistan came unglued to be bowled out for 268, suffering a 74-run defeat to fall 0-1 behind in the three-match series.