"I'm just trying to find out what my role is within this team" - Joe Root on adapting to England's new-age approach
Former England captain Joe Root believes that he is yet to completely adapt to the role in the revamped Test team under the watchful eyes of Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes.
The former No.1-ranked Test batter's average has plummeted ever since he relinquished the captaincy, while the rest of the batting unit has flourished under the attacking regime.
Root scored a memorable 142 in the rescheduled fifth Test against India, which boded well with England's modern approach. The ace batter, however, had a poor home series against South Africa and, barring a solitary fifty, endured a poor tour of Pakistan as well.
#NZvENG
Wagner finally has a wicket after going over 6 an over...
Root won't like that stroke, especially from his standards...
https://t.co/miMuCN6TNu
Root lost his wicket in an uncharacteristic fashion during the first Test against New Zealand, but made amends in the second innings, where he scored a brisk 57. England went on to win the pink-ball contest comfortably by 267 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match affair.
I love everything about this team! What a series! 🏴🦁 https://t.co/9E8VCplIVe
Opening up about his dismissal while playing the reverse sweep against Neil Wagner in the first innings at Mount Maunganui, Root said:
"It was a calculated shot to get them to bowl both sides of the wicket, change their plans and force the game. You take calculated risks. I've got where I've got to by trusting my gut."
He continued:
"It just didn't quite work out. I sort of middled the edge of it.It's not going to stop me playing it. But maybe I can be smarter about playing it. I had played it once so maybe the bowler looked at my movements, because he bowled it wider. You have to give the bowler credit in some respects. But yes, it's now part of my Test game and I'll continue to utilise it when it's the right time."
Being a traditional red-ball batter, Root has had to make adjustments to fit into the No. 4 role in the playing XI. Other batters in the middle order like Harry Brook, Stokes, and Jonny Bairstow have a natural approach to the same.
Opining that he still has work to do in terms of settling into the new approach, Root said:
"I've just got to find out what sits best for me, And it's going to take some time.I think if I'm being brutally honest, there was the initial relief of coming out of the captaincy. And now I'm just trying to find out what my role is within this team."
Root continued:
"It sounds silly having the experience I have, but you want to be involved and want to be a part of it. You want to heavily contribute and I felt like I've not been able to do that in the last few Tests."
The right-handed batter was piling up runs prior to the appointment of Stokes and McCullum as captain and coach, respectively. However, since the culmination of the rescheduled Test against India, he has scored only 242 runs across 11 innings at an average of 22.
"It's the same feeling we had about six or seven years ago with that white-ball team" - Joe Root on England's rise in Test cricket
England under Ben Stokes have arguably revolutionized Test cricket as a whole. They have only lost one Test since the radical revamp and are eager to make a case in the next cycle of the World Test Championship (WTC), which begins with the Ashes in July 2023.
Comparing the Test team's rapid rise to the one that Eoin Morgan introduced to the ODI side following their exit from the 2015 50-over World Cup, Joe Root said:
"It's the same feeling we had about six or seven years ago with that white-ball team. It feels like the sky's the limit and we don't know really what we're capable of doing. That's the exciting thing. It still feels like there's more in there. The batting performances, as extraordinary as they were, still no one went on and made that big hundred that we all pride ourselves on doing."
England will take on New Zealand in the next Test of the series in Wellington from Friday, February 24, onwards.
Can Joe Root find his feet in the new-look England Test side? Let us know what you think.
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