Rooting for greatness: Joe’s career graph has gone skyward in recent years

Smokin’ Joe: The red-hot Root has stolen a march over his peers during the last 30 months.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

Maithreyi S.

Joe Root has been in the form of his life. Incredibly, he has blasted 13 centuries in his last 34 Tests since the start of 2021 and outshone his peers — the ‘Fab 4’ also comprising Steve Smith, Kane Williamson and Virat Kohli.

At the beginning of 2021, the Englishman had 17 centuries to his credit and stood last in the list. Kohli had topped the table with 27 hundreds at that point. However, Root currently stands second with 30 tons, just one behind Smith.

With his unbeaten 118 in the first Test of the Ashes series, which marked his 30th hundred in Tests, Root has a total of 11,168 runs in 131 matches and 240 innings, with an average of 50.76. His highest was 254 against Pakistan in 2016. A player with several records to his name, Root, the current No. 1-ranked Test batter, is also a handy all-rounder (eighth rank) who bowls effective off-spin.

Extraordinary year

2021 proved to be an incredible year for Root, as he piled up runs, making it one for the ages. With a staggering 1,708 runs in 15 matches at an average of 61, he became the third player in history to aggregate over 1,700 runs in Test cricket in a calendar year, joining Mohammad Yousuf and Sir Vivian Richards.

Root hit six centuries that year and also picked up 14 wickets with his part-time off-spin, which included a career-best five for eight — his first five-wicket haul in Tests — in the third Test against India in Ahmedabad. Fittingly, Root was named the ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year.

2022 onwards

Similarly, 2022 was also a good year for Root. He breached the 1,000-run mark, tallying 1098 in 15 games at an average of nearly 46. He hit five tons and a couple of fifties and led the table of most runs in the year. This year, Root has a total of 539 runs with two centuries, with a highest of 153 n.o. in Wellington in the second of the two-Test away series.

With Root in superb form and England trailing in the series, the second Ashes Test at Lord’s makes for mouth-watering possibilities. Can the star batter notch up another century to match Smith and help his side draw level would be the question on the lips of not just the English fan, but also the cricket world.