The English No.4 has featured in 158 Tests till date.
Cricket resonates with life. After walking out to bat 158 times for England in Tests, Joe Root still feels the pressure. One can wonder the amount of mental toughness the game requires out of a player. Root is one of the best English batters to have played the game. And if he can still feel the pressure after 13 years of Test cricket, it does speak a lot about the expectations out of a player.
In a recent podcast, the English batter opened up about a lot of aspects of batting. He especially spoke about batting at No.4 in Tests, and the doubts that can creep into the minds of a batter. Irrespective of the success any batter has achieved over a period of time, he still starts his innings from zero. But the more and more success he earns through his years, the expectations on his shoulder increase.
And this is nothing different than what happened with Root, over the years. The 34-year-old holds the second-most runs in the Test format, and is placed after only Sachin Tendulkar, who has scored in excess of 15,000 Test runs. If Root continues his domination in the longest format, he is expected to get close to the record of Tendulkar, and maybe even breach it.
But it comes at a cost. When a player of such a high calibre fails to perform, or is out of form, doubts start creeping in. And it happens for every player. For a batter as big as Root, he too has had doubts whether he is good enough.
“Regardless of what stage you are in your career, there is always pressure. You think about how you can keep performing consistently. Because the bowling side always has got more information on you’, said Root.
A match at the highest level demands a lot out of a player. Though a large part of the shortest format is intensity, the Test format requires heaps of perseverance and temperament. And for Root to be able to master the longest format, he must have a lot of those. On the podcast, Root also gave a sneak peek into his pre-match routines and stated that it is important for a player to make sure that one is in a good headspace ahead of a clash.
Though Root has got more than a thousand runs at No.3 and No.5, the No.4 spot seems to be his home in Test cricket. Batting at No.4, the former English skipper has amassed 8,316 runs at a staggering average of 52.30. Moreover, he also holds 27 hundreds and 37 fifties while batting at four.
The only feather which is not in Root’s cap at the moment is the three-figure milestone on Australian soil. But he has a real chance to have a crack at it later this year. The English side will be on the flight Down Under for the Ashes series, starting from November. And ten innings in Australia is a big enough sample for the English veteran to get to the three-figure mark.
The 34-year-old spoke about his methods to get ready before a Test match. He expressed that feeling mentally good is what he focuses on, in the days leading up to the game. Furthermore, he stated that he goes for a few knocks on the morning of the game. But the most important preparation happens in the mind. As a player, Root stressed on the importance of soaking all the pressure in – be it about the surface, the conditions or what the opposition might be trying to do.
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It is no secret that England have chosen to play their cricket differently. Since Brendon McCullum took over as the coach of the side in 2022, the change in the style of play is visible. The strike-rates have shot up, and a fearless approach is on display. However, one of the things at which McCullum has been sensational has been his ability to make the players believe in his methods.
Joe Root spoke about how the youngsters coming into the team simply adore playing under the head coach. The team looks ready to take any challenge head on, and that has separated them from the rest. He also spoke about how James Anderson and Stuart Broad changed their approach slightly towards the end of their careers, to fit into where things were headed.
Moreover, Joe Root voiced that McCullum has opened the former’s eyes towards looking at the game differently. For a very long time in his career, he was very technically minded. But with McCullum at the helm, the reverse-sweeps and scoops can be freely on display.
“One of the great things that I’ve enjoyed over the last few years is that Baz [Brendon McCullum] has completely opened my eyes up to looking at the game differently”, said the English No.4.
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