LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE JOY

Root’s empathetic leadership has made England smiles better

THE smile stretched from ear to ear. Even for a fully paid up member of the grumpy fast bowlers’ club, there was only one emotion consuming James Anderson in Chennai at the end of this memorable 227-run triumph – pure joy.

At 38 and with 158 Test matches behind him, you might think that Anderson has seen it all, done it all, and perhaps even be jaded by it all. Not a bit of it.

If anything, this bowling Benjamin Button has become more mellow, joyful and happier with age. Part of it has something to do with the fact that he is actually still improving.

No fast bowler has taken more wickets over 30 than Anderson’s 343. But it is also down to the way Joe Root is bringing the best out of him and the rest of the team in the most wholesome of environments.

Root’s empathetic leadership is clearly working wonders for a group of players who have now won six on the bounce away from home and who are revelling in each other’s success.

The victory in the opening Test of a four-match series drew Root level with his mentor Michael Vaughan on 26 wins as captain, but he is very much doing the job his way.

There is a gentleness – not a softness – to Root that few captains before him have had while in the job – and it is connecting with his players in a profound way.

Rather than weigh him down, the job appears to have become a lighter load on his shoulders thanks to his collaborative approach with other players around him.

And it is why players such as Ben Stokes are prepared to run through a brick wall for their captain. “It really is fun,” said Anderson following the 72nd win of his career. “With the guys that we have got we are creating something really special. We are led amazingly well by Joe Root both on and off the field and he gets better and better with every game.

“He has worked so hard at it. He thinks a lot about the game and it is good that he has a lot of experience around him as well.

He can bounce ideas off us.

“It is a really fun time to be around this group and we are just trying to keep challenging each other and to keep performing on the field.”

While there will be no surprise about Anderson’s performance in taking 3-17, including a memorable double wicket over to clean bowl Shubman Gill and Ajinkya Rahane with a mastery of reverse swing, it was Jack Leach who got the ball rolling on a day when India needed 381 more runs to win. Leach had already removed Rohit Sharma the night before but, when he had India’s Mr Dependable, Cheteshwar Pujara, caught at slip for just 15 in the seventh over of the morning, England’s tails were up – and they stayed up.

Virat Kohli resisted as long as he could for his 72 but, once Stokes bowled him, Leach returned to remove two more to finish with 4-76 and make up for the pummelling he took in the first innings. “I thought we were playing in the IPL,” said Leach of Rishabh Pant’s first-innings aggression. “It is my first time in India and they have a great batting line-up, so I was really happy to take some wickets.”

It’s real fun with the guys we have