Joe Root gives England a sniff of victory with first class display

Growing in stature: Joe Root was in fine form once again yesterday and holds the key to giving England a chance of winning this Test

England's batsman Joe Root celebrates scoring his century (100 runs) during day three of the second Test cricket match between the West Indies and England at the Grenada National Stadium in Saint George's on April 23, 2015. AFP PHOTO/JEWEL SAMAD (Photo cr

Stephen Brenkley

24 April 2015

Towards the end of England’s last dreadful Ashes expedition, Joe Root was dropped.

He was as drained and tortured as everybody else involved. It was probably a mercy dropping.

It could also be said that Root has learned from it. Recalled immediately upon the start of the last English summer, he has since been on a one-man batting crusade.

He will resume his innings on the fourth day of the Second Test here in command of taking England to a lead against West Indies which might offer enough wriggle room to engineer victory.

With two days left, it is unlikely, but so assured was Root yesterday in scoring his sixth Test century — his first overseas — that little seems beyond him at present.

His plan today will be to try to bed in with Jos Buttler and then up the ante. At 373 for 6 — a lead of 74 — England’s tail must wag ferociously.

Root has been in sublime touch in virtually all the nine Tests he has played after the Australia tour. In only one of those matches has he failed to reach a 50 and he has now passed that landmark in his last six innings.

That puts him jointly at the top of the list of Englishmen alongside Alastair Cook, Ken Barrington, Ted Dexter and Patsy Hendren. Root has also scored four hundreds and a total of 1,037 runs (so far) in the 14 innings the sequence has comprised.

Root is so compelling precisely because he looks so unreasonably compact, complicating nothing, always busy and looking for the sharp single as often as despatching the loose ball.

His fellow Yorkshire player, Gary Ballance, has hardly been less prolific and is still on course to become one of the fastest batsman to 1,000 Test runs. When Ballance was surprisingly out here last night, sparking a mini- collapse which could curtail England’s lead, his aggregate stood at 938, his average at 62.53.

The pair, who once shared a flat, put on 165 for the fourth wicket and rarely looked troubled on a pitch that has yet to show many signs of wear. Though there is a little turn on offer, it is usually slow enough for necessary adjustments to be made.

England managed to lose three of their middle order wickets for 35. After Ballance was bowled off an inside edge attempting to drive Marlon Samuels, Moeen Ali was run out attempting a rash single to get off the mark and Ben Stokes pulled a long hop into the hands of mid-wicket.

As Stokes left the field, his adversary, Samuels, with whom he had been engaged in incessant sledging exchanges during West Indies’ first innings, stood and saluted him. If send-offs to batsmen must be given, this was a rather amusing example, though from Stokes’ reaction, its funny side had not registered immediately.

The third day had begun with England’s improbable first-wicket pair of Cook and Jonathan Trott continuing their partnership. Both scored half-centuries which they would dearly have liked to become centuries.

Cook has now gone 34 innings without one, Trott himself has now gone 21, though, thankfully, he looked far more at ease than on his comeback in Antigua last week. Their partnership of 125 — England’s first of three figures for the first wicket for two years — was instrumental in setting up the rest of the innings.

Perhaps England should have done slightly better, perhaps they could have been more careful in preserving more wickets, but it is always a balance, especially when time has been lost in the match. A draw is the more probable outcome unless the pitch wears or one side can find a spark of inspiration.

Joe Root gives England a sniff of victory with first class display

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