TONS OF LOCKDOWN HOMEWORK GIVES ROOT GREATNESS

Captain Joe studied EVERY dismissal of his Test career in a bid to improve.. it worked wonders with a century in his 100th match

JOE ROOT has lifted the lid on the painstaking hours of homework which have made his astonishing start to 2021 A-star material.

The England captain led from the front in Chennai with his 20th Test ton arriving in the first innings of the first Test of the series to set out his stall in spectacular style.

With it, he became only the ninth batsman in history to adorn his 100th Test with a century.

Hundreds used to be his speciality, this being the eighth time Root has begun a series this way. But before this year, the last time was 2017.

Since then he has seen rival India skipper Virat Kohli (below), Kane Williamson and Aussie great Steve Smith, twice, do it to great effect against England and he wanted to hit that standard once again.

During lockdown, Root has completed a forensic audit of his career to work out where he can improve.

It included examining his every dismissal in Test cricket to get a better understanding of his strengths and weaknesses. Root revealed: “I really used that lockdown period and that time away from the game to have a look at a few things, technically. “I’ve looked at certain trends of how I was getting out at certain times of my innings, and tried to eradicate it. “I’ve tried to improve and evolve as a player and it seems to be working.” It was painstaking stuff – away from the England environment and away from the spotlight.

By breaking it all down by himself, the man with Sheffield steel in his veins was then clear about what he needed to do to improve. He started contacting the people he trusted to help him do the physical work and the training that went with it.

This thoroughness is what it takes to achieve greatness.

This is the level of detail and commitment required to be the very best.

And it is reassuring to know that talent alone is not enough.

Stars such as Kohli, New Zealand’s Williamson, India’s Cheteshwar Pujara and Pakistand’s Azhar Ali will recognise these traits. So, too, will England bowlers James