Joe must brush up on his skills

JOE ROOT’S favourite subject, besides PE, at school was art. He enjoyed the creative side of it. Well set on 59 yesterday, his home crowd were expecting another masterpiece from the Headingley Hockney.

While lesser mortals around him were drawing a blank, Root, below, had painted some elegant pictures in equalling AB de Villiers’ world record of 12 Test half-centuries in a row. Then came an attempted paddle sweep off gentle spinner Devendra Bishoo.

The ball looped to slip off the toe of his bat and he was gone. The sploshing sound from the West Stand was the sound of a thousand plastic beer skiffs crashing to the ground in shock. Root’s frustration was obvious as he angrily swatted his bat before trudging back to the pavilion.

In his first game in charge of his country in his cricketing backyard, Root desperately wanted to deliver. He ended up doing half a job. Perhaps the Root fan club should not have been surprised. For a player of such quality, he is dismissed when he is in apparent command surprisingly often.

Early exits are part and parcel of a batsman’s job description and Root should have departed on eight only for Kieran Powell to drop a regulation slip chance – but, once in the zone, the sweet shop is open. The England captain should push on to three figures more often than he does.

He has reached the half-century mark 44 times in Tests – a superb record – but has gone on to make a hundred 13 times – which is not. His conversion rate of 29 per cent compares with 50 for Aussie Steve Smith and 55 per cent for India’s Virat Kohli. It is a minor problem compared to issues afflicting England’s top order but an issue nonetheless. It sounds churlish to call out a batsman who has made 5,250 Test runs in five years but big scores make a big difference.

When Root has scored a century, England have never lost. Their record is 10 wins and three draws.

When he scores a half-century the numbers are not as impressive – 13 wins, 10 losses and six draws.

With West Indies’ plywood batting line-up, England are still favourites. Had Root made good on his promise and converted like Ben Stokes, the outcome would have been all but certain.