Joe quietens doubters as bad run ends with century
RORY BURNS insists captain Joe Root has the backing of everyone in the England camp after the pair recorded centuries on day three of the second Test against New Zealand at Hamilton.
There has been scrutiny over whether the captaincy is impinging on Root’s batting because he averaged 27.4 in his ten previous Tests this year, but he ended his lean trot with an unbeaten 114.
The 259 deliveries Root took to reach three figures was the slowest of his 17 Test hundreds but his innings, allied to Burns’ 101, helped England to 269 for five before rain washed out the last hour of play with the tourists trailing by 106.
Burns said: ‘It’s obviously really nice to see the skipper get his runs. He’s a very good player and a lot of stuff has been potentially said in recent times. Not scoring runs as a batsman might bring other things into the equation which isn’t necessarily true.
‘It’s because when he bats like that, everyone’s behind him and knows exactly what he can do.
‘For Rooty to get those runs, he’ll be feeling very good but he also knows that there’s more runs to be had and there’s another partnership to get into.’ Root’s 177-run stand alongside Burns at Seddon Park came a day after England seamer Stuart Broad had said: ‘If you’re a batsman, you’d want to bat out there.’
Broad suggested Burns was the key batsman on a surface that was benign for most of the day, allowing the Surrey captain and Root to accumulate steadily against a largely unthreatening attack.
It’s nice to see the skipper get his runs. When he bats like, that everyone is behind him
Asked whether Broad’s words were still ringing in his ears Burns, dropped twice on Saturday night, said: ‘I’m not sure he said that I was the key wicket, he just said that he fancied me, slightly. I’m glad I made his words come true.’
Root and Burns were only parted when the opener came back for a second run and was short of his ground. Burns added: ‘I’m disappointed that me and Rooty couldn’t stretch our partnership and get us deeper into the game.’