Need Root as elite class more than as captain

has conquered allcomers. Now, though, after a tricky 2019 in which he has averaged less than 30 and lost the consistency that has been his hallmark, he admits that he is in a ‘‘rough patch’’. Two low scores at

Mount Maunganui in the lost first test against

New Zealand, both hesitant, unsatisfactory efforts, highlighted the problem. Why the struggle?

Few players travel through an entire career without enduring any slump, so it may be that this is simply Root’s time.

There is as good a crop of fast bowlers around right now as international cricket has had for some time. India, Australia, South

Africa, New Zealand and West Indies again have fine pace attacks, and with conditions in England more challenging for batsmen in the past two years than for a long time, some context is probably required. Maybe Root has been slightly worn down by fighting these unequal battles and by the unrelenting schedule.

That his footwork appears more deliberate, less instinctive at the moment is clear. That smooth back and forth that you see normally from sideways on is more stilted. He seems heavier on his feet, slightly more ponderous. The persistence and excellence of the Australia pace attack last summer seemed to put him out of sync, and he admitted to spending time before this tour with a coach from Sheffield Collegiate, his boyhood club, in an attempt to rediscover something lost.

Throughout the Mt Maunganui test, Root continued this search. Every morning, he hit a high volume of balls in the nets under the eye of Paul Collingwood, England’s assistant coach, searching for rhythm and the timing of his pre-movements. It may sound counterintuitive, but volume and repetition is the only way back to something that feels instinctive.

‘‘Technique is freedom,’’ said Vaslav Nijinsky, the great dancer, and by that he meant that movements become so ingrained, so second nature as to allow the mind and body to react to, in this instance, a ball often coming at speeds that require decisionmaking in the blink of an eye.

Root is having to deliberate and think about his technique too much – that does not leave much room for spontaneity and instinct. He believes the captaincy is not affecting his game, that this is too easy an excuse to use. I’m not so sure. The statistics suggest otherwise (he averages over 50 as batsman alone, under 40 as captain). More than that, the manner of his play suggests otherwise. That jauntiness, lightness of touch and optimism in his play are missing.

Two things to ponder — some carry responsibility lightly, others less so. Root is normally so chipper and light of mood but is evidently less so as test captain. He feels the burden, takes the defeats personally. At his best, that lightness of mood is reflected in a boyish enthusiasm to put bat to ball at the crease. Keen to set the right example by digging in, that freedom has disappeared for the moment.

That Root will come good again with the bat goes without saying. Whether he can find a way to return to his best form and lead the team through another gruelling two-year period is open to doubt. It is impossible to say quite how far or whether the burden of leadership is affecting his game, but I know one thing for certain — Root the batsman is far more important to England than Root the captain.

He remains England’s one world-class batsman. A look around the batting order, either side of him, highlights how important his runs are: two rookie openers; an inexperienced (in test terms) No 3 finding his way at this level; a young No 6; a new wicketkeeper at No 7. Root’s class stands out a mile.

As with many walks of life and professions, captains fall into three categories. There is a tiny per centage who are outstanding. They are born leaders, often intuitive, sometimes charismatic, always empathetic. There is a tiny percentage who are useless. Then there is a large majority who do pretty well, who manage themselves and their players reasonably under the strain, for however long that may be.

As captain, Root is in that majority. He has done a reasonable job, although it is difficult to know how the character of the team has shifted under his leadership.

As a batsman, though, Root resides among the elite, the best of the best, and England are missing his runs more than anything else.

THE TIMES