< 1 minute read Imagine that today is exactly like today only Moeen Ali made a duck. There, you see – things could be slightly worse. This isn’t so much a ‘glass half full’ attitude as a ‘there’s still something in there, I’m sure – maybe if I tip the glass the right way
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Alex Hales’ disappointed face after being dismissed
< 1 minute read Yesterday Alastair Cook played far and away the most entertaining reverse sweeps and ramp shots we’ve ever seen. Proof, if it were needed, that context is everything. With 10,000 runs of back story, this was a proper plot twist. In contrast, Alex Hales’ daddy fifties are a new story. This
Continue readingWest Indies’ 2016 World T20 win: Fortunately for them, they weren’t playing cyborgs
2 minute read Ben Stokes’ coolly outmanoevred Carlos Brathwaite at the death. Had the West Indian launched his attack earlier in the match, he could have hit six sixes in an over. As it was, he was denied by winning the World T20 after just four balls. Stokes is doubtless delighted. The desired
Continue readingRoot and Stokes – a certain chemistry
2 minute read Alchemy was when they used to try and turn base metals into gold. It was a load of cobblers. Tell you what isn’t a load of cobblers though – Joe Root and Ben Stokes batting together. Quite often when these two substances are combined, true magic happens. In this year’s
Continue readingJoe Root chips in
< 1 minute read After England had beaten South Africa in the first Test, several pundits remarked that in a weird way Alastair Cook might be quite happy that the win had been achieved without any major contribution from either himself or Joe Root. Root made 97 runs. In a relatively low-scoring game by
Continue readingEngland retrieve Nick Compton from the freezer
2 minute read Back in 2013, we suggested that England couldn’t refreeze Nick Compton having already defrosted him (this makes fractionally more sense if you read the article). Turns out they did. They stuck him back and now they’re defrosting him for a second time. Nick Compton’s back in the fridge! At least
Continue readingJoe Root’s back
< 1 minute read Not as in ‘returned’ because he hasn’t been away. We’re more worried that he might have ankylosing spondylitis. If Alastair Cook doesn’t get the runs, Joe Root will, and if Joe Root doesn’t get them, then England fans better hope that the team can cobble together a good number of
Continue readingJoe Root survives the pea-rollers to welly a hundred despite not remotely being ‘due’
< 1 minute read The 2015 Ashes started with a hail of bouncers. Double-bouncers, triple-bouncers and a few outright grub-hunters. It was intimidating stuff from the perspective of an ankle – although the puddingness of the pitch did at least simplify things for the bowlers, allowing them to both pitch it short and hit
Continue readingJoe Root becomes the context and goodbye to Ian Smith
2 minute read If we were tasked with producing a faceless match report for the Twenty20 international between England and New Zealand, we’d write: “Joe Root top-scored in an innings in which Jason Roy and Sam Billings showed great promise,” or something like that. Joe Root is not the focus there. He’s context.
Continue readingJoe Root hasn’t made a hundred in England for almost a year
2 minute read We’re thinking about trying to get more into selective use of statistics. It seems to be a big thing in cricket, but we’re not off to a great start. Truth is it’s barely been nine months since Joe Root last made a hundred in England. Actually, we didn’t specify Test
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