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The West Australian newspaper, perhaps with a Perth hangover, had branded England's highest Test scorer, just 2235 behind Sachin Tendulkar, as a 'dud Root Down Under' prior to the second Test. (Reuters Photo)
No team has lost a pink-ball Test after scoring over 260 in the first innings, so it can be said – unless Travisty strikes – that Joe Root has put England in a strong position at the Gabba Ashes Test.
However, the West Australian newspaper, perhaps with a Perth hangover, had branded England’s highest Test scorer, just 2235 behind Sachin Tendulkar, as a ‘dud Root Down Under’ prior to the second Test. Dubbing him ‘average Joe’, the paper had cackled at his failure to score a Test ton in Australia. Root had nine fifties and scored 900 runs in Australia, but his average of 33.33 hung like a millstone around his neck.
His milestone century after he came out to bat at 5-2 forced the paper to backpedal after Root struck his 40th ton, ending all clichéd criticisms including ‘surfboard’ from David Warner for his pads.
Scot Boland’s LBW shouts on 62 and 73 amounted to nothing, and despite a stutter at 88, Root glided towards his long-due century.
Western Australia published a picture of Root celebrating his ton on front page, with a headline: ‘He’s not a bad Root after all’ and conceded, ‘Average Joe finally scores big in Australia.’
It had been imminent awhile, but Root had told UK’s Daily Mail before he set off, “How I prepare now is different to how I would have done 10 years ago. I’m a lot more mentally focused. I’ve clearly played against a lot of their guys now, know how they operate, know what they’re likely to try to bring to the series.”
Familiarity bred contentment.
The century was reached with a flick to fine leg, after which Root removed his helmet, spread his arms and saluted the crowd with a much photographed shrug.
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“It is a brilliant innings and just what England needed,” Alastair Cook told TNT Sports. “He’s been superb under pressure as always. He is England’s best batsman ever. He just gets better and better.”
Also heaping praise on Root was current top order Zak Crawley. He told BBC Test Match Special, “Really good day. Unbelievable day for Joe. He has had that coming for a long time. Probably the best player I have we played with and against. Sometimes you don’t get the rub of the green, but he didn’t need the rub of the green. He just played a flawless knock. He made it look effortless. He has worked so hard on his game and he is a brilliant player. We are so chuffed and thrilled to bits for him.”
English (US) ·