TAKE A BREAK JOE

Reluctant Root forced to sit out T20s to prevent burnout

JOE ROOT has been reluctantly yanked out of England’s T20 triangular tournament to save him from burnout.

The Test captain is a key man in all three formats and is desperate to keep playing, but coach Trevor Bayliss has stepped in to protect Root from himself and give him the rest he needs. He took some convincing to stand down knowing he has missed plenty already and doesn’t want to get left behind the world’s best.

He has sat out half of the games since England’s World T20 final defeat in 2016, and played just five out of the last 13 T20 games at home.

“I hate missing games,” said Root. “It is a discussion and a decision that has taken a long time to come to.

“I love playing for England and never want to miss a game but sometimes you have to look over a long period of time to make sure in the middle of the summer and the back end of next winter I still feel fresh and raring to go and not burnt out at all.

“White-ball cricket is moving forward so quickly, you have to make sure you’re always staying ahead or trend-setting, as we’re trying to do.”

There will be some who will find it odd that Root is missing at least four games for England, and yet he is still going to the Indian Premier League in April.

This is the nature of the cricket landscape. The ECB, stung by the Kevin Pietersen saga, do not want to stop their players earning the huge sums on offer, but have also seen the cricketing benefit as shown by the development of Jos Buttler (inset).

“I absolutely understand that,” admitted Root. “It is something that doesn’t really sit well with me either.

“You almost have to look at it as more of an investment for my game and for all the England teams.”