Root wants runs to add to family pride
JOERoot admits captaining England for the first time at his home ground of Headingley will be the proudest moment of his career. But the Yorkshireman will have to overcome a poor personal record on this ground if he is to extend his run of 50-plus scores to a record-equalling 12 Tests.
If the result of this second Test against West Indies appears a foregone conclusion after England’s innings stroll at Edgbaston last week, the prospect of Root drawing level with South Africa’s AB de Villiers by scoring another half-century isn’t.
That may seem strange for a player who has managed the feat in every game back to last winter’s second Test against Bangladesh at Dhaka. Consistency has been Root’s middle name since then, even with the added burden of captaincy he took on this summer.
However, Root’s return at Headingley has been poor since he scored a century in his first Test here against New Zealand back in 2013.
In the three matches that have followed, he has managed just 45 runs, including a pair during England’s innings win against Sri Lanka here last summer.
Overall Root’s Test average in Leeds is a lowly 25.28 compared to a career average of 54.07.
He has a record to set straight then over the coming days, which may end up being bad news for the Windies.
“You turn up at every ground and some grounds you have particularly good records at and others you don’t,” said Root. “Every time is an opportunity to either extend that good record or put right what’s wrong. This is just a great chance to come home and hopefully go out and make a big score.”
On the honour of leading England out at his home ground, where he will be watched by his entire family, Root added: “This will definitely be the proudest moment of my career. To come home where I’ve spent a lot of time watching cricket, learning about the game, making my own way in the game here as well, it will be very special.”
Equalling that record of 50-plus scores in successive Tests would be pretty special too. “I wish it was hundreds and not fifties!” joked Root.
“I suppose you go out there and just try and score as many runs as you can every time anyway. It’s not going to make a difference of how I’m going to approach this week.
“If anything, it’s nice to know that over a period of time I’ve been quite consistent in terms of helping us get decent scores.”
This Test, though, is not just about one man but how this England team are shaping up ahead of this winter’s Ashes tour of Australia. The three-day win at Edgbaston was ruthless. It wasn’t perfect though.
“There’s always areas you want to improve in,” said Root. “For me it’s just another opportunity to go out and back up a really strong performance and gather that momentum and gain some more consistency.”
Mark Stoneman, the opener playing just his second Test, Tom Westley and Dawid Malan all have positions in the top six to play for having not yet guaranteed their places in the touring party for the Ashes.
“I think the only message for those guys is to go out there and take this opportunity,” said Root.
“It’s another week of hard Test cricket, where, of course, guys are under different pressures wherever they bat in the order. And if they want to nail down those spots they have to deal with that and if they get in make it really count.”
Root isn’t expecting West Indies to be brushed aside so easily here in Leeds even if they were woeful in that day-night Test in Birmingham.
“They’ll come back, they’ll come out hard at us,” he said. “No one likes being beaten badly and they’ll want to make sure they prove a point.
“They’re a proud side with some very talented players and we’re fully aware of how they’ll approach the game and what they’re capable of and we have to be at our best and make sure we’re 100 per cent on it from the start to be in the game.”