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Opinion
Is there a more tedious discussion in world cricket than whether Joe Root belongs in the so-called ‘fab four’?
We went down that inevitable rabbit role after Root’s brilliant 218 against India in an absorbing Chennai first Test.
Does Root now belong in the same discussion as Steve Smith, Kane Williamson and Virat Kohli?
Is he fit to sit at the table of these titans of world cricket?
It really is cricket’s equivalent of the Leo Messi versus Cristiano Ronaldo tedium.
Of course, cricket lends itself to arbitrary, fun groupings that stoke discussion.
Best combined XIs, best ever pace trios, best moustached middle-order batsmen, etc.
And the ‘fab four’ was originally a smart way to group the best young talent in the game.
Joe Root of England bats during day one of the First Test Match of the 2017/18 Ashes Series between Australia and England at The Gabba on November 23, 2017 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Four Test batsmen, all generational talents, all around the same age, and all (at least when the concept was born) of similar ability in the game’s longest format.
But in recent years when Root’s performances didn’t quite reach the level of his contemporaries, it’s been used as a stick to beat him with.
That is, that he didn’t ‘belong’ and had been left behind.
Since then it would come up incessantly online; when Root performed poorly it reaffirmed his spot outside the four, and even when he shone he was ‘still not up to the level of the other three’.
Root’s upward career trajectory somewhat tailed off as the others continued to rise in Test cricket.
But because of this, he was no longer thought of as one of the game’s most influential batsmen.
Which, as the last few weeks have shown, is wrong.
Not only is Root statistically in that conversation — he is the only current player alongside the aforementioned three and Marnus Labuschagne to average over 50 (minimum 20 innings) — but he arguably plays spin with greater ease than any current player.
For three consecutive Tests in Asia, Root has been playing a different game to everyone else.
No England player had scored 150+ in three successive Tests since Walter Hammond in 1929.
Yet Root has done exactly that (innings of 228, 186 and 218 against Sri Lanka and India), on the subcontinent no less.
Let that sink in.
Ben Stokes, who put on a valuable 124 with Root in Chennai, summed up his recent form: “He makes us all feel pretty rubbish with how easy he makes batting look,” Stokes said.
“He has an answer and an option for everything that is thrown at him and it is a delight to watch…I’m not sure we have ever had an England player play spin so well, with such control, such ease. He is so consistent.”
Only Cheteshwar Pujara averages more against spinners in Test cricket — a serious achievement for a player hailing from the north of England.
The ease with which he uses his feet, navigates the rough, commits early to getting forward or back, and counter-punches his way out of difficult situations is brilliant.
‘Different gravy’, as they’d say in the motherland.
Perhaps one of the best and most underrated aspects of his ability against spin, is his capacity to get off strike so easily, by opening the face of the bat, using his feet and sweeping with unyielding efficiency.
Beyond all that, though, he is simply a lovely player to watch.
While Pujara grinds out innings with unbending concentration and soft hands, Root moves around the crease with an almost impossible ease
“He is always a joy to watch. Even when he is slightly out of nick, you never lose that rhythm of his play,” Former England captain Nasser Hussain told The Cricket Show on Sky Sports.
“If he carries on going like this, he will break every (England) record; number of Tests, the number of runs. But also the way he gets them. If anyone watched that 120 today, that was so pleasing on the eye. So it’s not just the runs or stats, it’s the value to your team and your teammates.”
So can we just park the fab four chat for a moment?
Whether he’s in the made-up gang or not, we can all appreciate his craft at the crease that is so brilliantly on show at the moment.