Ashes 2013: Why Australia must be wishing they had a Joe Root

On the day that a young prince was born who one day will be king, it may not be entirely fanciful to suggest that English cricket has already anointed its own baby-faced prince. Joe Root’s accession to the top table of international cricket is not yet assured. But during the course of the Lord’s Test match against Australia he gave such a strong account of himself that one can imagine him belonging within the sport’s royalty for many years to come. Asked on radio to sum up his early recollections of a young Root breaking through the junior ranks at Yorkshire, Michael Vaughan’s first comment was: “He’s a cheeky little bugger” – a tribute that suggests a smattering of self-confidence, and the first required hallmark of any elite sportsman with designs on reaching the top. Root is also, of course, a highly accomplished batsman with a particularly strong handle on the mental attributes necessary for crafting a long innings. [caption id=“attachment_978411” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Root celebrates his century at Lord’s. Getty Images[/caption] He has already matured since making a most eye-catching debut against India at Nagpur last December. On that day, he was 21 — but so cherubic in looks that a barman would have thought it preposterous were this blond, blue-eyed boy to ask for a beer. There was no denying Root’s courage, conviction and natural sense of belonging in international cricket, however. Wearing an England cap fresh out of its wrapper, and defending India’s spinners astutely, he was not remotely intimidated, converting a precarious first-innings total – 139-5 – into a secure one – 330 all out, hitting an important 73 of his own with some deft cuts and sweeps. He has rapidly emerged as a beacon of consistency in England’s one-day side — averaging nearly 50 and playing all 16 ODIs this calendar year to date — and when the Ashes came around the selectors reckoned he deserved a go opening the batting with captain Alastair Cook. This was a contentious selection, because it forced Nick Compton to be dropped, and many people weren’t happy that the experienced man from Somerset was being unseated at such a vital point, and without having played particularly poorly in a brief nine-Test career. In the first Ashes Test, Root failed (forgive the pun) to take root in the convincing manner that one demands of an English opener. But he most certainly did at Lord’s. With England hitting trouble at 30-3 in their second innings, he batted the whole of the third day, during which Australia’s faint victory hopes were remorselessly crushed. A natural back-foot player, he had spent some time with his coaches working on his straight-driving, knowing that Australia’s bowlers would test him out with full-length bowling. And during his marathon innings, just short of eight hours, he unfurled two or three beautiful drives back past the stumps to the Aussie seamers, along with the usual collection of cuts, pulls and square drives. There isn’t really a shot he doesn’t possess, which for a 22-year-old is fairly remarkable. Perhaps most impressively, he can move in and out of gears at will. He doesn’t mind if he gets bogged down a little; he just waits for the next bad ball to come. And when the runs are flowing, he doesn’t ride on the adrenaline, trying to manufacture a big shot when something more circumspect is required. Then there is the bowling. Just before tea on day four, when it looked like the Aussies would at least stretch the match into the final day, Root had one of the world’s best players, Michael Clarke, caught at leg-slip. Then Usman Khawaja, the only other batsman who had settled, was caught at slip – also off Root. Looks like the limelight suits him well. By the end of the match, there were some big contributions to reflect on. Ian Bell had hit a hugely important century on day one; Graeme Swann had nine wickets to his name. But Root was man of the match — simply by doing what Australian coach Darren Lehmann must have been imploring his own batsmen to do, playing each ball on its merits. One of the most deceptively simple batting mantras of all seems particularly difficult for the Aussies to get the hang of. How they must wish they had a young Joe Root at their disposal.