Root Must Learn To Bat Ugly To Become A Great!

Root Must Learn To Bat Ugly To Become A Great!

- Derek Pringle

It sounds like one of those problems that is the curse of the middle classes, like last summer’s shortage of iceberg lettuce in British supermarkets. Yet, Joe Root’s failure to covert 50s into 100s is becoming something of an annoying habit and not something any serious batsman would want on his CV.

He failed again, if getting another half century is failure, on the opening day of the final Test in Sydney. There, with his team just moments from taking the initial honours, his near-effortless march to 83 was ended when he clipped a stray half volley from Mitchell Starc to square leg.

It was by any standards a soft dismissal, more so given that Root, not for the first time this series, had done the hard bit. Yet, it is as if he expects a reward for that – principally that batting will become easier – something rarely the case in Australia where it is second nature for bowlers to make batsmen work hard by keeping it tight and bowling dry.

On this occasion, Root’s brain fade came when he got to face the second new ball with 10 minutes of play remaining. England were 220-3 at the time and in the box seat after winning the toss and batting. This was the last dice throw of the day from Steve Smith, who tossed the new Kookaburra to Starc, still wicketless on his return after suffering a sore heel, and distracted now by cramp in his calf.

The first ball, which swung in late, was met by a pushed drive from Root which he timed perfectly enough for it to reach the long-off boundary. Fours had been hard to come by and this was just his sixth in 139 balls. But the ball was swinging at 88mph, so alarm balls should have sounded.