Only burnout will stop Root growing
JOE ROOT claimed last night he is happy with the requirements being placed on his shoulders after a year in which he has made himself indispensable in all three formats.
But England’s star batsman acknowledged his workload will have to be carefully managed over the next 12 months if he is to continue at the top of his game.
The Yorkshire and England player was honoured at an ECB awards dinner in Leeds last night with three trophies, for Test player of the year, limited-overs player of the year and fans’ player of the year.
Yet inherent in such a clean sweep of the boards is the potential for burnout if he continues with such a heavy burden for club and country.
Root, 25, maintained he is feeling “in a great place” physically and mentally, but accepted England will have to rest him at times this summer as they balance risk and reward.
“You need time away from cricket and the management and backroom staff have been very good with knowing when to pull me out of games and giving me time to rest and recover,” said Root.
“Mentally, more than anything, it can be quite draining sometimes. It’s about making sure it doesn’t affect your performances on the field.
“At the moment they have the balance exactly right. I’m really pleased with where my game is and where my head is and I can’t wait to start the summer.”
Root says that his back, which has given him trouble on occasion and is a managed but ongoing concern, is in good shape right now.
“I batted for a decent amount of time against Surrey last week and it held together pretty well,” he said. “Fingers crossed, that’s something that shouldn’t be too much of an issue over the summer.”
But in the 12 months since the start of the New Zealand series last summer – the period covered by the awards – only Ben Stokes has been asked to shoulder a similar burden.
Root has played for England in 17 Tests, 14 one-day internationals and 11 Twenty20 matches in that time, while Stokes has appeared in 17 Tests, 15 ODIs and 10 T20 games. Both look sure to be rested at opportune moments this summer.
Root beat off stiff competition from fellow nominees Stuart Broad and Stokes for the Test award and from Jos Buttler and David Willey for the limited-overs gong.
The good news for England, in all three formats, is that Root believes he can get better in the next 12 months.
“I know that my cricket can develop so much more. There are so many areas that I have to keep working on and keep improving,” he said.
“I don’t think you’re ever happy as a batter; there are always more runs you can get and more tweaks you can make to improve. There’s plenty on the horizon for me to work at.
“It is important that you keep that desire and that hunger. You learn from the mistakes you make. You learn from the bad games and the bad tours and, when things are going well, you think about that and you make the most of it.
“You don’t get lazy, you don’t rest on your laurels. You make it count. This game can be brutal. As soon as you get comfortable, it bites you. You have to stay on it all the time.”
England embark on their international summer as heavy favourites to beat Sri Lanka here in Leeds on Thursday in the first of three Investec Tests, with the second and third at Durham and Lord’s respectively.
There follows five ODIs and a T20 against Sri Lanka before Pakistan roll up for four Tests, five ODIs and a T20 – all before the end of the first week in September.
Following that to Bangladesh Christmas.
“There’s too much cricket for me to look as far ahead as the India tour or the next Ashes,” said Root.
“I’ve got to make sure that I stay on the park for all the games prior to that and that I’m scoring plenty of runs.
“If I can do that then when those tours come around I’ll be ready to go.” there and will be tours India before