Joe Root has revealed England captain Ben Stokes has inspired his record-breaking Test team to play “like rock stars”.
Set 378 to win at Edgbaston, a record run-chase for England and the eighth highest in all Test history, Stokes’ side aced the challenge by a swaggering seven-wicket margin.
England’s ‘Boss’, head coach Brendon McCullum, was blasting out Bruce Springsteen’s anthemic ‘Glory Days’ as England arrived at the ground on the fifth morning needing another 119 runs, while Root went even further back in the rock’n’roll catalogue when he made his 28th Test ton.
After taking in the applause, Root raised his hand to the air and wiggled his little finger at the dressing room, making reference to a scene from the new Elvis Presley movie.
“Ben wanted us to be entertainers. He’s mentioned trying to be rock stars on the field,” said Root who made an imperious 142 not out amid an unbroken match-winning stand of 269 with fellow Yorkshireman Bairstow (114 no).
“It’s about trying to have fun and really relishing every opportunity you get to showcase what you’re about and put on a show for everyone. It’s like being a kid again, it’s great.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to feel or look like a rock star but for 10 seconds out there I might have done. That’s what the little pinkie celebration was about. Ben watched the Elvis film the other day and he’s been doing that all week. It was a little tribute to him.”
For the majority of a prolific career Root has played more for the classical crowd than the mosh pit. But his adoption of an outrageous reverse ramp this summer has shown he is willing to turn up the volume. His latest attempt saw him hoist Shardul Thakur over third man for six, leaving the India seamer all shook up.
“The Yorkshireman inside me is still saying ‘dig in, play straight and get behind it’,” said Root, shadowing a forward defensive shot.
“Then there’s the captain on my shoulder saying ‘be a rock star’. So you’re fighting between the two of them, sometimes.
“There have been occasions where I might have played some unusual shots if you look at the history of Test cricket, but they’ve felt like pretty low-risk options in the moment.
“Hopefully we’re still heading into the unknown and there’s more to come. We’ve just got to keep trusting and believing in what we’re doing. It’s been an amazing four or so weeks and I feel like there’s potential there for still a lot more as well, which is very exciting.”
Stokes boldly said “there was a bit of me that almost wanted them to get 450 (in front), to see what we did.”
He added: “Teams may be better than us but teams will not be braver than us – that’s a quote from [England offspinner] Jack Leach.
“The last five weeks have been an incredible turnaround. I don’t think everyone can understand what has happened here.”
Doctor Rotcod
Roar Rookie
You can also try dropping the paragraph to get a space in your post then using the indent on the first word.
jameswm
Roar Guru
He was more than just that though. 125-130kmh line and length buys tend to get hammered in Australia.
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
And Jack Leach found his mojo. Overton the younger bowled OK and did an Agar with a nearly-century on debut. You're right the bowlers have gotten 20 wickets each match but the story has really been the batsmen
Micko
Roar Rookie
Height brings not just extra bounce, but natural variation too. McGrath was hard to hit due to the unpredictability of his (seemingly) similar balls (line and length) that did different things at the batters' end. Kyle Jamieson is similar.
Nick
Roar Guru
That would have been a batting friendly wicket on day 7.
Neil Back
Roar Rookie
Worked really well for McGrath throughout his career.
jameswm
Roar Guru
Click into a different article and come back, and then the paragraphs show. Happens to me every post.
jameswm
Roar Guru
Yeah I think the 5th day wickets are generally a lot better than they used to be. It is not rare for teams to score 300+ in the 4th innings nowadays, wit the wicket not breaking up as much.
jameswm
Roar Guru
Will nagging line and length really work in Australian conditions, on hard decks with bounce but not much sideways movement? I'm not so sure. On Adelaide under lights and in Brisbane on day 1 maybe. But they're not really classic Australian decks at those times, with the extra grass left on for the night tests.
Neil Back
Roar Rookie
Yep, didn't even need Stokes! ....or any of the other 6 wickets
Neil Back
Roar Rookie
It wasn't all about England's batting. England's bowling attack did a job in India's second innings, all delivering decent economy rates. It was a similar story in the NZ series. One of the key take aways largely missed under the batting noise has been the unearthing of Potts, who only got his chance this early due to English fast bowling injuries. His nagging line and length works in Australian and English conditions.
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
It mattered but let’s not get carried away. The Poms were 109/3 chasing 380. The match was won by Root and Bairstow, again
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
I think it was. Bumrah was his usual self until the Poms started smacking them all around the park.
The Bush
Roar Guru
This is where it gets hard to judge the game without watching it - India's bowlers are excellent, but if they lost the plot in the 4th inning as you say, then that goes some way to explaining what happened. The question I suppose is whether 'BazBall' was what caused them to lose it.
Nick
Roar Guru
India played a 4 day game against Leicestershire immediately before this test. They had two of their team play for the opposition so all candidates to play had two bats and bowled twice Yeah, so that's Mickey mouse prep. A real first class fixture would have been better. The ODIs and T20s aren't helpful for 4-5 of the test side either
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
Goes back to my original question . How good are England ? Have they been put under serious pressure ? A scratchy NZ team ( my opinion ) and a one off Test against India ...I’ll pin my colours to the mast here and with a full tour from my team , warm up games , proper prep then let’s see what England are worth . No freebies from us . But let’s see . I’m totally looking forward to this .
The Bush
Roar Guru
There’s all sorts of reasons why batting in test cricket, especially last, is harder; mental tiredness, physical tiredness, different type of ball, different type of field (ropes usually further out), no part timer or all rounder to make up overs, meaning constant pressure.
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
We will. Having stuffed NZ and India and with SA still to come it's not like they're cherry picking easy opponents to try this new stuff on. That they haven't played a test match outside England since changing the management isn't their fault. Given how your team went, it might be better to simply show a little decency and acknowledge the change and hold your final opinion until they play away
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
Stokes clearly said that he didn't think there was much in the wicket when he won the toss. He just wanted to bat last
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
India played a 4 day game against Leicestershire immediately before this test. They had two of their team play for the opposition so all candidates to play had two bats and bowled twice. They are now here for a series of 3 T20 and 3 ODI's. In total, they will be in England for a month