by The rot started with Root. It was only five wickets in the day on the third morning at the sun-soaked Niranjan Shah Cricket Stadium. The moment bleary-eyed English fans who had set their alarm on Saturday morning with the promise of more high-octane Stokesian shenanigans groaned into their muesli. In fact, it was probably still too early for nutrition. At 4.22am UK time, a little before 10am local, Joe Root – England’s modern-day prince of the bats – unhappily leapt into his misery and attempted to scoop it back to Jasprit Bumrah.
You probably know the shot, you probably laughed with glee when Root fired it against the quick pace of Naseem Shah or the sinewy bumpers of Neil Wagner. He was relieved when he tried it against Pat Cummins to the first ball of the day in the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston last summer or he was delighted when he later succeeded than Mitch Marsh and Scott Boland.
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The shot has been Root’s signature stroke since he stepped down as captain and re-entered the ranks with a tigerish spring in his step a few years ago. Where velveteen drives all, his gimlet-eyed sweeps and Andrex glides soft behind point, this is the shot that Root has enjoyed playing the most in the last few years.
Well, you guessed it, he found it. The delivery from Bumrah was wide off stump and in the slot for him, as much as a ball can be in the slot for such an angled stroke against audacity. Root took over early, pre-empting the scoop and playing it in his inimitable style – like a man throwing a dusty doormat against a garden wall – but failed to gain the necessary elevation. Instead of rising away over the slips the ball flashed to Yashasvi Jaiswal in the crease and the youngster followed up on a sharp catch.
Root threw his head back in shame and stomped off the field, this time the mistake didn’t pay off. India took advantage of the totter and turned it into a full stump of England wickets. The visitors lost eight for 112 runs to surrender a strong overnight position and eventually end the day on 322 runs. Ben Stokes’ side ran ragged in the Rajkot heat and were caught off the field at the end with eight Indian wickets still to be taken before they can begin the inevitable chase.
As England collapsed in a heap, Root’s shot selection soon became the subject of much tongue-lashing. The Guardian’s OBO coverage was like a late night/early morning radio call-in as punters took to their keyboards in the gloom and reached out to deny Root’s “brain graduation” or, oddly enough, to celebration.
Perhaps the first rule of Bazball is that you don’t talk (or, for Brendon McCullum even say the word in the first place) Bazball, much less contemplate the delicate alchemy of risk, reward and fear. is supposed to be the basis of it. But maybe the people who are not happy had a point this time? With India’s star bowler after Ravichandran Ashwin pulled out of the game due to a family emergency overnight, England had the chance to have a “move day” of their own and bat up to and beyond India’s innings score of 445. Root was clearly feeling good after driving Bumrah for four in the previous over and Ben Duckett was humming positively from his company down the other end. Perhaps Bumrah had a few more wickets left in his spell and perhaps prudent cricket logic would have suggested seeing him out, leaving the back-scoop at the bottom of the bag for now and making hay as the day on.
For all their bar-emptying feats and exciting acts of derring-do, one thing Stokes could perhaps be accused of is a lack of ruthlessness. Root’s dismissal brought the mind back to the Lord’s Test in last year’s Ashes series and a similar situation.
With England flying with the bat and Nathan Lyon going down injured, Pat Cummins was out of his mind and resorted to a well-marked short ball plan. Instead of seeing the bigger picture, England got caught up in the moment, chased the short ball and lost, surrendering a 91-run lead in the process and losing a tight Test by just 43 runs.
Needless to say, England’s players and many of their supporters don’t see it that way. When asked about Root’s dismissal after stumps Duckett was unequivocal: “In my eyes it’s like playing a drive and getting to second slip.”
There’s a reason cricket fans are shouting at the Stokes Test team ringing the alarm clock in the wee small hours. They put on a show. There is never a dark moment. They are worth waking up for. For better or for worse, something bonkers might happen before you brush your teeth or collect the bins. However, if this match goes the way it’s headed and India take a 2-1 lead in the series, the The moment he started to unravel will be all too obvious for players with a storied name like Root and Stokes. Whether they choose to regret it or indeed learn from it or not.
