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Joe Root's parents Matt and Helen. (Screengrab via TNT Sports X)
After Joe Root finally managed to score a century in Australia in what was his 15th Test Down Under, his parents revealed how the Ashes was something that was in their son’s consciousness before he was even born. Root scored a century on the first day of the Pink Ball Test at the Gabba. It was cause for celebration for the England star because he had previously gone 12 years and 29 innings without scoring a ton.
During the first day of the Gabba Test, Root’s parents joined the TNT Sports panel to talk about their son finally scoring a century.
There, Root’s father Matt revealed how his son was almost born to play cricket. When a panelist asked the parents what Joe was like as a kid and whether scoring an ashes century in Australia was a bucket list item for the young Joe, his mother Helen said: “He just loved playing cricket. He had a bat in his hand ever since he could walk. He was just constantly playing cricket.”
To this, Matt revealed: “35 years ago, when she was in labour we were listening to the Melbourne Test, weren’t we?”
Joe Root was born on December 30, 1990. That was also the fifth day of the Ashes Test in Melbourne where England had lost by eight wickets. David Gower had scored a ton in the first innings for England, while Wayne Larkins had scored half centuries in both innings. But with Bruce Reid taking 13 wickets across two innings for Australia, the hosts had won the Melbourne Test in 1990 on the fifth day, which is also the day that Root was born.
💬 "34 years ago when you were in labour we were listening to the Melbourne Test!"
We spoke to Joe Root's parents after he got his first 100 in Australia 🙌
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Talking about her son finally getting a century in Australia, Helen said: “Everybody has been talking about this monkey on his back (not scoring a century in Australia). That kind of thing. But this century will really only matter to him, it will be the most important, only if England win the Test.”
Matt spoke about how he had been nervous when Mitchell Starc was bowling.
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“I was nervous when Starc was swinging the ball all over the place and England were two wickets down for single figures. But with Joe he gets out a lot more before he gets to 10 runs than he does in the 90s. So I am a little bit more nervous when he goes into bat. But it was great for him to get over the line (and score a century in Australia),” said Joe Root’s father.
In a different interview, with Kayo Sports, when asked by England great Michael Vaughan how they had celebrated the century, Matt said: “Last night we had some kebab and a bottle of wine.”
When Root got to the century, he celebrated with a shrug that indicated that he wasn’t sure what all the fuss had been about him not getting a century in Australia.
When Matt and Helen were asked if there was any pressure on Joe himself with all the conversation about him not getting a ton yet on Australian soil, the father said: “You could tell from the gesture he made when he got to his century. Almost like a ‘what’s all the fuss about?'”
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