OPINION
Follow Us*All numbers are from 2021 until the 2nd England-New Zealand Test
“Joe Root has sprinted to the crease”, said Michael Atherton on air when he stormed out to bat in the first innings at Trent Bridge against New Zealand.
A batter's epic form, the comfortable space he is in, can be defined by the way he rushes to the crease. Root’s sprint felt like he has already sized up the pitch and could see a huge score for himself. He raced to his fastest century in Test cricket - off 115 balls - and accrued 176 runs at a strike-rate of 83.1. In his previous innings at Trent Bridge, against India, he walked out to bat with a smile on his face. England were 46/2 and still 45 behind in the first innings. The pressure on him was immense but Root eased to 109 off 172 balls. It is this ease and fluency that has bewildered us all in his rich vein of form.
In three years from 2018 to 2020, Root managed only four tons, scoring 2263 runs at an average of 39.7. He has exceeded that tally in the last 18 months alone, scoring 2371 runs. Falling behind in the Fab 4 race earlier, he is now leveled with Virat Kohli and Steve Smith in terms of hundreds (27). The 31-year old has breezed past every batsman of this generation to become the only active Test cricketer and the first 90s-born to get in the 10k-run club. Around a fortnight ago, he reached the summit of Test batting rankings.
The question arises: how is he doing it? The big scores, the ease and the fluency and all of this, at a time when Test batting hasn't been easy. 2021 was, in fact, the second lowest averaging year (27.3) for batters in the 21st century. This is an attempt to deep dive into his technique.
Dabbing his way to greatness
In Tests since 2021, Root has 1388 runs against pace and 983 against spin. The tally of 1388 runs versus pace alone eclipses the overall second highest run scorer in this time frame - Dimuth Karunaratne (1216).
The backward point and third man area have been a major contributor in satiating Root’s appetite for runs. He has harvested 32% of his runs against pace, dabbing the ball square into the off-side, often in the third-man region. The third-man region alone has accounted for 36 boundaries from Root, the highest for him in an arc on the ground. For Virat Kohli, it is the cover drive. For Marnus Labuschagne, it is the flick. 
The dabs have allowed Root to make up for the low profile of runs down the ground. He is a terrific driver of the ball but cuts down that option due to constant lateral movement in the England conditions. As the wagon wheel above suggests, more than 50% of his runs are behind the square. This has been a pattern in all of Root’s big knocks. A note to take for Virat Kohli probably?
On an interesting note, Root’s front foot play against pacers has witnessed a massive improvement in this cycle. From 2018 to 2020, Root averaged 27.2 in 56 innings against the pacers when playing on the front foot. Whereas, in this cycle, he averages 51.1 in 39 innings.
Sweeping spinners off their feet
When batters ace a shot, they have many ways to play it, almost like owning a playlist of the same genre. In his best form, Rohit Sharma creates the same aura with the pull shot. For Root, it is the sweep. 37.9% of his all runs against spinners have come while playing different varieties of the sweep - the conventional sweep, the reverse sweep, the paddle sweep and the slog sweep.
Overall, mid-wicket is Root’s most productive area against spin, bringing 29% of his runs. But nearly half of his runs in the on-side against spin - 48.2% of the 625 runs in the on-side - have come via sweep strokes. Remember his 228 and 186 in Sri Lanka last year? Or 218 in Chennai? All these innings were laden with sweeps. His average against spin (98.3) in this period is almost twice as that against pacers (47.9), showing how integral tackling the spinners have been to his success.
The fluent strike-rotation
Alongside scoring in hefty amounts, Root has also increased his tempo of run scoring. And he has done that by embracing more low-scoring options. For starters, there is a considerable cut down in the number of deliveries he leaves alone against pace - from 17.7% in the 2018-20 cycle to 14.4% since 2021.
There is a modest increase in the strike-rate - from 47 to 53.6. But the notable part is that Root has made it possible despite a similar boundary percentage - 45.6%. That clearly reflects at constant strike-rotation. There is a similar pattern in his numbers against spin.
Overall, 58% of his singles/doubles/triples have come, take a guess: square and behind the wicket on either side. His prime shots are the square cut, late cut, the flick and the sweeps, be it for boundaries or rotating the strike.
Where can he be caught?
Despite all the genius mentioned above, there is one pattern in his dismissals. 29 out of his 39 dismissals in this period have come against pace. 21 of them are of good length. In Australia, the only country where he didn’t get going in this golden period, the good length has pocketed him eight times in five Test matches.
A lot of these dismissals are also in the probing line outside the off stump that generally enables Root to dab the ball in the third-man region. Sometimes, your strength also happens to be your biggest weakness.
In the most recent example, Colin de Grandhomme showed the same in the first innings at Lord’s. As Root set himself to steer the ball to the third-man, the extra bounce diverted the shot straight to the gully fielder.
Like Kohli’s cover drive and Rohit’s pull, there is some risk-reward factor attached with Root’s steer to the third-man as well. Bowl tight. Keep the slip cordon packed alongside a third-man in place. Wait for the edge. If there is extra bounce in the surface, that edge will come sooner. A note to take for India before the fifth Test at Edgbaston next week.
