Loyalties Put Aside As Fans Seek Thrills 'n' Spills

Whoever you root for, cricket remains a game where personal favourites often come before the team, writes Alison Mitchell

- Alison Mitchell

When Joe Root sprinted back from extra cover to take a brilliant running catch over his right shoulder to dismiss Chris Gayle during the first One-Day International at Old Trafford, the crowd roared with approval at the Englishman’s immaculately judged effort.

Earlier there had been a cry of anticipation followed by a mass groan of anguish as Root spilled an edge off Gayle’s bat at second slip from just the third ball of the match. In the moments after, however, it was entirely likely that England fans in the ground turned to their nearest neighbour and quietly admitted that they were glad Gayle was still there.

The Jamaican was on nought when he was dropped. Chris Woakes had angled the ball across the imposing left-hander, Gayle customarily didn’t move his feet as he drove outside the off-stump, and when the ball flew through the air to the slips, Root made an utter meal of a catch that arrived at shoulder height. Gayle, box-office star that he is, had a lifeline.

Had Root taken the catch there would have been a huge cheer, yet there would also have been an enormous sense of anti-climax from a crowd, who, despite supporting England, were quietly hoping to see a few Gayle fireworks first.