Broadcaster Mark Nicholas has likened Joe Root to rock stars such as David Bowie and Bruce Springsteen for his ability to continually reinvent himself.
Root has been England’s most dependable batter for several years but since handing over captaincy duties to Ben Stokes, the Yorkshireman has adapted his approach to be in keeping with the ultra-attacking philosophy under his successor and head coach Brendon McCullum.
His strike-rate has skyrocketed in the last 14 Tests, up to 76.35 from a career mark of 54.65 before Stokes took the reins, while Root’s output remains excellent with 1,279 runs at 67.31 in the Bazball era, again a significant improvement from a stellar career average of 50.76 in 131 Tests.
Nicholas, the former Hampshire captain who will serve as the next MCC president from October, believes relinquishing the captaincy last year played a role in unlocking Root 2.0.
Nicholas told the PA news agency: “He’s an amazing man and cricketer actually and I think the ability to keep reinventing himself as a batsman. It’s almost like rock stars do it.
“David Bowie kept reinventing himself, Bruce Springsteen to a degree. There’s a number of them. It’s amazing actually.
“It’s incredible to think that he averages more under Stokes than before Stokes and in itself that tells you that he’s freed up his mind. I think that as a captain, he felt the responsibility heavily.
“By freeing his mind up, he’s a little looser in the shoulders, (has) a looser grip on the bat and therefore everything is more ready to go in the attacking sense.”
Root has risen to the top of the Test batting rankings after swashbuckling innings of 118 not out and 46 in England’s agonising two-wicket defeat in the first LV= Insurance Ashes Test.
His second dig typified his outlook as he outlined his intent on the first ball of the penultimate day by attempting to reverse ramp Pat Cummins.
While he made no contact on that occasion, Root was undeterred and unleashed the same shot off back-to-back deliveries in Scott Boland’s next over, bringing a six then a four.
Root’s blitz came to a premature end after he charged down the pitch to Nathan Lyon and was stumped.
While Nicholas disagreed with the bullish approach, he accepts the England camp may not share the same view.
Nicholas added: “The choice of the reverse scoop first ball of the day, I think that is overdoing the bravado because if you get out, you’re going to feel you’ve let a lot of people down quite unnecessarily.
“If you’re in and you’re seeing it bigger, completely fine, but first ball of the morning against the best fast bowler in the world, there’s no obvious necessity for it.
“(Former England captain) Tony Greig once said ‘it’s a greater crime to get out for 30 or 40 than for nought’. In other words, once you’re in, don’t give it away.
“Does this England team take any reference in that sort of principle at all? Maybe not.
“I noticed when he walked past Stokes who was (the next batter in), Stokes gave him a kind of touch (on the shoulder) and said ‘brilliant mate’, not ‘you clown’.”
Turning the tide: Windies captain Powell cautiously optimistic about comeback in T20 series against England
Though facing an uphill task in their five-match T20 series against England, West Indies captain Rovman Powell is cautiously optimistic that they can produce a comeback to not only overturn a challenging 2-0 deficit but to go all the way in the series.
Powell’s sentiments served as a rallying cry of sorts as they stare down a must-win situation in the third encounter at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground in St Lucia on Thursday to keep the series alive.
Still, Powell expressed confidence that the Caribbean setting, coupled with a few strategic changes, will bolster their fightback.
“St. Lucia is always a good place for us. It provides an opportunity for us to play good cricket, and the wicket is generally a good one, probably the best one in the Caribbean,” Powell said in a pre-game interview.
“The people of St Lucia always come out to support us, which is also good, and so we're looking forward to the next three games. Hopefully they can come out and support us, and we can deliver some good cricket,” he added.
After two tough matches in Barbados, which England won by eight wickets and seven wickets, respectively, Powell emphasized the significance of a renewed focus while also pointing to the need for every player to take personal accountability heading into the crucial contest.
“I think it’s a case of each guy reflecting on how things have gone so far from an individual perspective to see if we as individuals are bringing enough to the table, and then we try our best to try to put it together as a team. We have areas that definitely need work, but the guys are in good spirits. We had a good training session today, so we’re hoping to hit the ground running,” Powell explained.
St Lucia is not only familiar territory but also presents a new beginning, especially with the return of key pacer Alzarri Joseph from a two-match suspension.
Powell believes Joseph’s presence will fortify a bowling attack that has struggled in the opening games, as England easily chased down 182 and 158 in both games.
“If you should look at our bowling department, we really needed him in those games. So, it's important for him to come and hit the straps and hit the ground running. As a bowling group, we have areas where we need to control the power play because the middle overs generally take care of themselves, and he will come to bowl some of those overs in the backend,” he shared.
Despite the uphill battle, Powell cited the Caribbean side’s recent successes over the past 18 months as a reminder of their potential.
“It's a little uncomfortable being 2-0 to be honest; it's a position that we haven't found ourselves in in a long time, but it's an opportunity for us to show what we are made of as a T20 team,” Powell declared.
“England is a team that we have played quite often these days, and we have had good results against them. It's just unfortunate that Barbados wasn't good for us in terms of T20 cricket, but St Lucia provides a new opportunity for us to come out and play some good cricket,” the Jamaican reasoned.
Finally, Powell reiterated the importance of a victory on Thursday, not only to stay in the series but also to set the stage for an exhilarating weekend of cricket. The final two encounters are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.
“It's a case of us getting back into the series; we just need a win, and once we get the win tomorrow, we can go from there. The guys are upbeat; even though we are 2-0 down, they are in a good frame of mind and ready to play good cricket,” the captain ended.
'England comes before anything' – Kane unhappy with Three Lions withdrawals
Harry Kane has questioned the number of players withdrawing from the latest England squad, insisting the national team "comes before anything".
England face Greece and the Republic of Ireland in their final two matches in Nations League Group B2 this week, also their last two games under interim head coach Lee Carsley before Thomas Tuchel takes over in January.
Eight players have withdrawn from Carsley's squad – Trent Alexander-Arnold, Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Aaron Ramsdale and Levi Colwill.
In an interview with ITV Sport on Wednesday, Three Lions skipper Kane appeared to question the commitment of those dropping out.
"I think England comes before anything. England comes before club," Kane said.
"England is the most important thing you play as a professional footballer and Gareth [Southgate] was hot on that and he wasn't afraid to make decisions if, you know, that started to drift from certain players.
"It's a shame this week obviously. I think it's a tough period of the season, maybe that's been taken advantage of a little bit.
"I don't really like it if I'm totally honest. I think England comes before anything, any club situation."
England likely need to beat Greece – who claimed a 2-1 victory at Wembley Stadium last month – to have any chance of winning automatic promotion back to League A.
Should the Three Lions finish second, they will face a third-placed finisher from League A – potentially Poland, Belgium, Hungary or Serbia – in a promotion play-off tie in March.
Tilak's unbeaten ton helps India take lead against South Africa
Tilak Varma smashed an unbeaten 107 as India went 2-1 up in their T20I series against South Africa, claiming a nail-biting victory in Wednesday's third match in Centurion.
Following their surprise defeat in Sunday's second match, the tourists bounced back to earn their 10th win in their last 12 outings in the format, putting them on the brink of a series triumph.
Tilak was the star of the show as he produced comfortably the best score of his T20I career, surpassing a knock of 55 versus Bangladesh last year in some style, while only facing 56 balls.
He hit eight fours and seven maximums to set South Africa a target of 220 for victory, with Abhishek Sharma scoring 50 from 25 deliveries in support before Keshav Maharaj broke their partnership in the ninth over.
Despite six of India's batsmen scoring 18 runs or fewer and four – Sanju Samson (0), Suryakumar Yadav (1), Rinku Singh (8) and Axar Patel (1) – being limited to single figures, the damage had largely been done already.
South Africa were then dropped to 84-4 within their first 10 overs as Varun Chakravarthy claimed the crucial wickets of Reeza Hendricks (12) and Aiden Markram (29).
Heinrich Klaasen's incredible 54 off 17 balls dragged South Africa back into contention, and they required 18 runs from four deliveries in a grandstand finish, but Arshdeep Singh trapped the hosts' dangerman lbw to secure India's victory.
Having fallen short of their target by just 11 runs, the Proteas must now win Friday's fourth match to salvage a 2-2 draw from the series.
Data Debrief: Big-hitting India on the brink
Tilak recorded a strike rate of 191.07 while Abhishek was at 200.00 as their early partnership powered India towards victory.
India have now hit over 200 sixes in T20I matches this calendar year, only previously surpassing that figure in the format in one previous year – recording 289 in 2022.
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