London [UK], August 15 (ANI): England’s talismanic Joe Root outlined the impact head coach Brendon McCullum has had on his style of play, which rejuvenated his batting career.
During Root’s captaincy tenure, which lasted from 2017 to 2022, centuries had started to dry up after his prolific form started to elude him. During his leadership tenure, Root conjured 14 tons in 64 Tests at 46.44, with 5295 runs under his belt. Root’s dip started to reflect in the Three Lions churned out.
In his final 17 Tests as skipper, England had just a solitary victory as the team endured the bubbles of the COVID-19 pandemic. After a stint filled with turbulence and patches of brilliance concluded, McCullum arrived with his ‘Bazball’ and installed Ben Stokes as the designated captain of the Test side.
McCullum’s arrival changed Root’s fortune. In just 41 appearances, he blazed his way to 14 centuries at a far superior average of 58.00, garnering 3654 runs. According to Root, he has debunked the approach of sticking to the technical aspect and shifted his focus to managing his game in an improved manner.
“Having worked with Baz has changed the way that I look at the game. I’ve got less technical, I’ve become more about trying to manage the game better and find ways of problem-solving. It’s been very refreshing to have someone with a very different way of looking at things come and add a huge amount to my game. He’s been brilliant,” Root said as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
Despite boasting 158 Test appearances, 13,543 runs and 39 centuries, Root still craves to evolve his game. As he stands second on the list, close to breaking legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s elusive record for the highest run-getter in the format, Root isn’t driven by the urge to break that milestone.
“As a player, more of the motivation is can you keep evolving. Can you keep finding ways of staying ahead of your opposition? Can you make sure that you don’t stand still and become stale? Can I keep being creative? Can I keep finding ways of improving and making sure that the stuff that I’m doing well stays at that level as a bare minimum?” he added.
Root’s next Test assignment will be against England’s arch-rival Australia in the cricket’s oldest rivalry, the Ashes, which is scheduled to begin on November 21. (ANI)
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