REDEMPTION FOR ROOT
Captain lifts England with long-awaited Test ton as he grinds it out with Burns
Joe Root punched the air, removed his helmet and kissed the badge. His 17th test century had been a long time coming. But he had been true to his word.
Ever since arriving in New Zealand, england’s captain has insisted he was on the brink of something big after an Ashes summer in which four half-centuries jostled with three ducks for supremacy. Another failure, and his claim might have taken its place in the drawer marked ‘press-conference cliches’.
Instead, on a day when opener Rory Burns made his second test hundred before being infuriatingly run out, Root showed his inexperienced team how he expects them to bat.
At 259 balls and a minute shy of six hours, this was the slowest of his england centuries.
Despite a very english wobble, with the prospect of a decent lead yielding to the fall of three wickets for 61 either side of tea, Root had given his side a chance. And at the start of the third morning, there had appeared very little of that. Above all, Root was damned if he was going to give New Zealand a sniff, not after watching them grind his bowlers into the Mount Maunganui dust for 201 overs.
He added 44 to his overnight six during an extended morning session, 34 between lunch and tea, and another 30 by the time rain ended play an hour early, with england 269 for five in reply to New Zealand’s 375.
At drinks on the fourth morning, Root and ollie Pope had extended their sixth- wicket stand to 49, at a stately two runs an over. Root was on 139, having faced 319 balls — the third-most of any of his test innings.
It did not set pulses racing, but Root’s england have had enough of that these past few years, both for good and ill. Instead, on a slow, lifeless Seddon Park track, he slowed his heart-rate and waited for New Zealand to come to him. expertly he picked them off, mainly on the leg side, which had produced 73 of his 114 runs by stumps. It was batting as accumulation. Self- denial over self-expression.
Since replacing Alastair Cook as captain in 2017, Root has craved the aura that came so naturally to his predecessor — that of role model, setter of examples. Yet this was his first hundred in his team’s first innings for 30 tests, stretching back to the day-night game against West Indies at edgbaston in 2017.
It very nearly did not happen. After moving to 99 with a glance for four off Neil Wagner, he almost chopped the next ball on to his stumps, only to see it bounce into the turf behind him, over the gloves of BJ Watling and away to the boundary.
Root allowed himself a cheeky grin, while his team-mates rose to acclaim their captain — a reminder that his popularity remains undimmed, even while his suitability for the job has come under question. two balls later, as if to celebrate, he flashed Wagner to third man with a more authentic cut.
earlier, Root had found the perfect ally in Burns, who put a shaky period on the second evening behind him to connect with some glorious drives and pulls, especially off Wagner. Burns had looked suspect during the early stages of the Ashes against the short ball, but the vulnerability focused his mind: some of his back-foot strokes were right out of the middle.
His century, from 208 balls, was high-class, confirming the suspicion at the end of the summer: england have found an opener.
So, two balls after reaching three figures, there was a sense of waste about his dismissal. After pushing Wagner into the leg side, Burns jogged the first, only to be called back for a risky second by Root. But Jeet Raval’s throw from midwicket was flat and accurate. Burns failed to dive for the crease, and replays confirmed he was out by centimetres. the sublime had been followed by the ridiculous.
It brought to an end a painstaking third-wicket stand of 177 in 63.4 overs with Root — england’s highest for any wicket since Root and Cook put on 259 against India at the oval in 2018. thrilling it was not, but that was hardly the point.
But while Root and head coach Chris Silverwood — who left the tour on Saturday evening to attend a family funeral in the UK — will have been thrilled that one of the younger brigade answered the call for top-order solidity, the run-out underlined one of the qualities this team still lacks: ruthlessness.
From nowhere, New Zealand were given a lifeline.
A brief post- tea session confirmed the grumble. Some forthright shots from Ben Stokes took england to 245 for three, at which point they trailed by 130 and were eyeing a handy lead.
But then tim Southee went round the wicket and Stokes edged him to Ross taylor at slip to depart for 26. that meant debutant Zak Crawley was at the other end when Root reached his hundred, but he did not hang around for much longer.
After getting off the mark with a single to mid-off that was too tight for comfort, Crawley pushed with hard hands and flat feet at Wagner, and was caught by Watling for a single.
Soon after, the rain arrived, with Root unbeaten on 114, leaving england to celebrate a day that belonged mainly to their captain, but still left them with plenty to do.