The Daily Observer London Desk: Reporter- Judith Benjamin
When Joe Root missed the first Test against West Indies at Southampton nearly three years ago to be at the birth of his second child he left his deputy Ben Stokes a note, saying simply ‘do it your way.’ Little did he know Stokes ‘way’ would transform English cricket.
Not that it was to be an immediate success. England lost that Test, staged behind closed doors because of Covid, by four wickets after leaving a certain Stuart Broad out of the side and Root hurried back after welcoming daughter Isabella.
‘He didn’t do it his way though, did he?’ smiled Root as England enjoyed a day off with their families or playing golf after their latest stunning success under Stokes. ‘That was the problem with that one-off game. If he’d done it like this it would have been fine!’
It says much for the former England captain that he is delighted how well it has gone since Stokes officially took over from him after a grim defeat in the Caribbean last year.
There appears no bitterness. No apparent envy that his close friend has turned essentially the same group of beaten players into world-beaters. But Root does admit to surprise at the full extent of the revolution.
Joe Root has admitted he’s been surprised by how well England have done under Ben Stokes
Stokes has won 10 of his 11 matches since taking over the Test captaincy from Root last year
The latest of those wins was a 267-run victory against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui
‘Well, I didn’t expect this,’ Root said after England’s 10th swashbuckling win in 11 games since Stokes was put together with Brendon McCullum last year, this one their first in New Zealand for 15 years and their first in an overseas day-night Test.
‘But I’m so glad it’s happened. It’s been incredible and I’m absolutely buzzing for Ben. He’s not just turned around our Test fortunes but now people around the world are seriously considering this as the direction Test cricket should be going.
‘It’s easy for me to say, being part of it, but people back home must be excited about turning on the telly and seeing what we’re going to do next because we’ve got so many different options. Teams don’t know what we’re going to throw at them.’
There is just one small issue for Root. What sort of player should he be in what we are told we really should not call ‘Bazball’ or even ‘Benball?’
He has slipped back into the ranks seamlessly but, since making two hundreds against New Zealand last summer and one against India, he has gone seven Tests without reaching three figures and was dismissed twice in Mount Maunganui to ‘funky’ shots.
So should he not just concentrate on churning out big hundreds in his unfussy style, which was a feature of his game even in the most difficult days of his captaincy?
Or does he need to carry on playing the kind of reverse scoops which led to his demise in the first innings of the first Test but praise from his coach for his audacity.
‘I need to find out what sits best for me and it is going to take time,’ admitted Root before England moved on to Wellington for Thursday night’s second and final Test.
‘To be brutally honest there was relief when I came out of the captaincy and now I’m just trying to find out what my role is in the team.
‘It might sound silly with the experience I have, but I want to be fully involved in this and want to be a big part of what is going on. I want to heavily contribute and I feel like I’ve not been able to do that in the last few Tests.’
That reverse scoop that has worked well for him until Daryl Mitchell anticipated the shot here and caught Root at first slip, will remain. ‘It was calculated and it was to try to get them to bowl both sides of the wicket,’ said Root. ‘You take calculated risks and I’ve got to where I am by trusting my gut. It just didn’t quite work out this time.’
But Root’s tempo in the second innings, when he made 57 off 62 before falling to a reverse sweep on the brink of an interval, is much more like where he wants to be.
