WELLINGTON — It says everything about Joe Root that even after extending his golden year with a sixth Test century in Wellington, he went out of his way to praise his England team-mates rather than bask in the glory of his own personal success.
Root has had quite the year, scoring hundreds in India, England, Pakistan and New Zealand and overtaking Sir Alastair Cook to become England’s all-time leading runscorer and century maker.
Only four men – Sachin Tendulkar, Jacques Kallis, Ricky Ponting and Kumar Sangakkara – have scored more than Root’s 36 Test hundreds.
His latest at the Basin Reserve last weekend helped England complete a three-day demolition of New Zealand and secure just the second away Test series victory of the Bazball era.
Such has been Root’s influence this year, he has been shortlisted for the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year award.
He is also the current No 1 Test batter in the world, locked in a battle with second-placed Harry Brook to end the year at the top of the pile ahead of England’s final Test of 2024 in Hamilton this week.
Root admitted he was “humbled” to get on the BBC SPOTY shortlist in an Olympic year.
But rather than talk about his own achievements, he went out of his way to praise Brook, his fellow Yorkshireman and England team-mate whose first-innings 123 in Wellington set up the second Test against New Zealand for the Bazballers.
“You ask me, Brooky is by far and away the best player in the world at the minute,” he said.
“To be able to construct an innings like that off the back of another exceptional hundred the week before, with such an all-round game, he can absorb pressure, he can apply it.
“He can whack you over your head for six. He can scoop you over his head for six. He can smack spin. He can smack seam. He’s so hard to bowl to.”
The feeling is mutual, with Brook admitting he will be hard pushed to overtake Root at the top of the rankings.
“I’m trying to catch him, but he’s too good, isn’t he?” Brook said.
“He’s obviously one of the best players, if not the best player, to have ever played the game. So it’s mega to play with him, and he’s awesome to watch.”
Joe Root’s 2024 in numbers
- Matches: 16
- Runs: 1,470
- Average: 56.53
- 50-plus scores: 10
Centuries
- February: 122 not out v India, Ranchi
- July: 122 v West Indies, Trent Bridge
- August: 143 v Sri Lanka, Lord’s
- August: 103 v Sri Lanka, Lord’s
- October: 262 v Pakistan, Multan
- December: 106 v New Zealand, Wellington
It’s little under two years since Root, speaking after England’s win against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui in February 2023, admitted he didn’t know what his role in this team led by coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes was.
So keen was he to buy into the Bazball ethos after standing down from the captaincy the previous spring, he was trying too hard to be attacking and assertive.
Since then, though, he has reverted to the Root of old, batting in his own way and averaging 60 since Mount Maunganui.
Root being Root is what works best for England and even though he continues to play the reverse ramp shot that has been so criticised at times over the past two years or so, he has stripped down his game and simplified his approach with stunning results.
The 33-year-old admitted after Wellington: “I try not to be too technical, try to be quite situational in the way I’ve looked at the game, which has really helped, and then working with Baz and in this environment.
“That’s something I’ve really benefited from, looking at breaking down the game, rather than looking too much at how I actually bat and then slowly chipping away at things along the way, constantly trying to evolve and get better as a player.”
Bringing up his century in Wellington with the ramp to the express pace of Will O’Rourke illustrated the confidence with which Root is playing with at the moment.
“I was just relieved it didn’t hit me in the face to be honest,” he joked.
There is history for him to hunt down in Hamilton this week, too, with no England batter ever scoring seven Test centuries in a calendar year.
Root previously hit six in 2021, when he defied the toll of captaincy and Covid bubbles to produce a stunning year.
To beat that this time, though, would set him up perfectly for a huge 2025 that will be dominated by next summer’s home series against India and the Ashes in Australia.
Root has never scored a century Down Under, an anomaly made even weirder by the fact he has three just across the Tasman Sea in New Zealand.
Expect him to rectify that record next winter, when England’s Ashes hopes could be defined by his weight of runs.
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