Joe Root’s Suitability for Bazball Questioned: England’s ‘Frustrating’ Assessment
Following England's 434-run defeat in the third Test in Rajkot on Sunday, Joe Root has only scored 77 runs in six innings over three matches.
The post Joe Root’s Suitability for Bazball Questioned: England’s ‘Frustrating’ Assessment appeared first on Cricket Country.
England batter Joe Root has come under fire for his poor performance in the ongoing Test tour of India. Following England’s 434-run defeat in the third Test in Rajkot on Sunday, Root has only scored 77 runs in six innings in three matches. In the third Test, Root was out in the first innings after a wild shot, and Ravindra Jadeja trapped him LBW in the second. Several former England players were drawn to his dismissal method in the first innings.
Root lost his wicket while attempting a reverse scoop off Jasprit Bumrah’s delivery. He didn’t timing his shot and got caught in the slip cordon.
Former England captain Nasser Hussain stated that people believed Root did not fit in with England’s ‘Bazball’ school of cricket, but his average of 51 under captain Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, up from 49, shows him incorrect.
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“After the first two Tests against India, we suggested that Root may not be suited to Bazball. However, the statistics suggest otherwise. He averages 51 under this regime and 49 prior to it. His dismissal summarises our current situation with Bazball. It will excite and frustrate in equal measure.
When he plays those reverse-scoops to the opening ball of an Ashes Test, we all stand up and cheer. When he does it to Bumrah here and then leaves, we all think, ‘What a disgrace’,” Hussain told Sky Sports.
However, Hussain conceded that ‘Bazball’ is also about absorbing pressure, and Root should have taken the game deep and used the shot later.
“One thing Joe will consider is the timing of the shot. Ashwin was not there, India are down a bowler; Ravindra Jadeja is playing off the back of an injury; Jasprit Bumrah is playing three Tests in a row and there is suggestion that he needs a rest.
Bazball is about attacking and absorbing pressure. “Get Bumrah into his second or third spell, go deep, and then play the shot later in the day,” he added.
India won the third Test by 434 runs and is now leading the series 2-1.
The fourth Test begins February 24 in Ranchi.
The post Joe Root’s Suitability for Bazball Questioned: England’s ‘Frustrating’ Assessment appeared first on Cricket Country.