It’s a hoot for Root
No wonder old enemy Warner isn’t smiling . . .
JOE ROOT spoke of his burning desire to win back the Ashes after his superb 134 rescued England on the opening day of the first Test in Cardiff. They recovered from 43 for three to reach 343 for seven at stumps on a topsy-turvy day — with Root able to celebrate his hundred in front of an unimpressed David Warner, the Australian opener who punched
Root two years ago in the Walkabout bar in Birmingham.
‘It’s nice to get out there so early in the series and make a big score,’ said Root.
‘But the most important thing is we get wins. We want to win back the Ashes. It’s OK to have one good day. Now it’s about backing that up.’
For Root, who was badly dropped by Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin before he had scored, a hundred was particularly sweet after he was axed for the final Test of England’s traumatic whitewash at Sydney in January 2014.
Since then, he has averaged 85 in Test cricket — and consistently looked like one of the best batsmen in the world.
‘It’s been really important to me first of all to get back into the side, then to contribute as much as I can,’ he said. ‘Being dropped is a feeling I don’t want to ever go through again.
‘In this sport you have to deal with hard times and show lots of self-belief to overcome them. I feel in a really good place.’
After being dropped, Root did not look back, and ascribed England’s run-rate of 3.89 to the new mood of aggression that has taken hold since the start of the New Zealand series in May.
‘It’s something we’ve been trying to work on since the start of the summer,’ said Root. ‘ It worked out really nicely against New Zealand, and everyone will take that approach for the rest of the summer.
‘Adam Lyth did it at Headingley, and Ben Stokes did it here.’
And Root was also full of praise for Gary Ballance, who overcame a lean trot to make 61 and add 153 with his friend and Yorkshire team-mate.
‘That was so important for us, just his mental strength, determination and Yorkshire grit.
‘It wasn’t pretty at times, but it was vital to get a decent partnership. That’s why he’s so integral to our team.’
Australian seamer Josh Hazlewood admitted that the tourists would now have to work out a new plan on how to keep Root quiet this series.
‘The way he batted was pretty special,’ said Hazlewood, who picked up three wickets. ‘We’ll have to come back with a couple of plans to nullify him.
‘He really waited for that bad ball. He’s the most improved player from the last time that we played against him (the 2013/14 whitewash Down Under).
‘We will have to work out a way to get him out.’
Hazlewood’s fellow Australian paceman, Mitchell Starc, also picked up three wickets but he left the field at the end of play with a sore ankle. However, the Australia medical team are hopeful it is not a serious injury.