Picture by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images. Joe Root scored his first Test century in Australia over the most recent winter, at Brisbane in December. He added another at Sydney later in the series.
When Joe Root stepped down as England Test in April 2022, there was little doubt that he would still lead from the front.
Root wouldn’t be picking teams, or walking out to the toss. That was now the job of Ben Stokes. But his experience and runs would mean the Yorkshire star would remain at the forefront of England’s progression as a Test Match side.
Root’s game flourished from 2022 onwards, even advanced within the Bazball era of Stokes as captain and New Zealander Brendon McCullum as coach.
In 47 matches between stepping down as captain and taking the job briefly for the Oval Test against New Zealand back in June, when Stokes was serving a brief suspension, Root scored 4,063 runs with 16 hundreds.
No other batter in the world has scored as many Test runs in that time as the now 35-year-old.
A stunning career best 262 came against Pakistan at Multan in October 2024 when he batted alongside Harry Brook, a player still learning his game. The pair shared 454 for the fourth wicket as England racked up 823-7 declared in the first innings of a win.
Picture by Stu Forster/Getty Images. Joe Root and Harry Brook pose for a picture after the pair recorded England’s highest ever partnership of 454 runs in the first Test between Pakistan and England at Multan in October 2024.
Brook made 317 and must have learnt so much from his county colleague during that partnership which remains England’s highest of all time.
He scored two Ashes centuries at Brisbane and Sydney in the winter just gone – his first two Down Under. Unfortunately, they were in a losing cause, with England beaten 4-1 in that series.
As long as injuries don’t bite, Root – aged 35 – will almost certainly break Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 15,921 Test Match runs. He currently sits on 14,114.
Root may also set a new bar which may well be difficult for anyone else to catch given the way the modern game is progressing with so much other cricket to contend with.
There was a spell in the early stages of the Stokes and McCullum era, albeit only briefly, when he perhaps struggled to find the right tempo in his game.
He had two runs of seven Tests without a century for example, through the second half of 2022 and then through the heart of 2023.
Picture by Stu Forster/Getty Images. Joe Root scored two centuries in the same Lord’s Test against Sri Lanka in 2024.
But he soon worked it out and was back to his best, highlighted by two hundreds in a late summer home win against Sri Lanka at Lord’s back in 2024.
Right-hander Root has taken the best bits from the aggressive style of cricket which Stokes and McCullum wanted England to play and made it his own.
There will be concern from some that with Root being England’s most cherished asset with the bat, will the burden of captaincy affect his run-scoring.
But here is a player who has shone in many a situation throughout his storied career. It would be a major surprise if he doesn’t continue to prosper.
He scored 14 centuries during his first tenure as England skipper and will obviously be a much more rounded player and leader this time around.
And it may well be that we seen an even better version of Root as he tries to progress England alongside the new coach Stephen Fleming.
Picture by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images. As much as Joe Root’s runs are important to England, so too his wickets with his canny off-spin. He has 74 Test Match wickets. It will be interesting to see how he manages himself with the ball as captain.
After all, Yorkshire coach Anthony McGrath said: “Flem’s predominantly coached in the franchise world, and I think he knows Brendon McCullum very well. It’s about working together. He’s probably going to be a hybrid of the current style.”
The opening match of the forthcoming series against Pakistan on August 19 will mark Root’s 12th Test appearance on his home ground, with him bidding for a third century.
His first Test hundred against New Zealand in May 2013 was supplemented by a first-innings 121 against India in August 2021, a game which England won.
Mind you, Root’s number one aim for the meeting with Pakistan will be a victory. Personal success will just be a bonus.
