Root reveals his irritation after getting out of his rut
ENGLAND captain Joe Root always felt he would recapture his form with the bat but admits his double century against New Zealand ended a frustrating spell.
Root’s 226 in the second Test in Hamilton was his highest score since becoming skipper almost three years ago, taking his side into the final day with a slim hope of a series-equalling victory.
The Yorkshireman, the first visiting skipper to reach 200 in New Zealand, said: ‘I have always felt it was close.
‘It has been more of a frustration that it’s not really happened rather than a worry. It’s obviously very pleasing but ultimately it would be nice for it to really mean something.’
Root’s first double century on foreign soil came off the back of an average of 27.4 in his previous ten Tests, a sharp fall from his own high standards that see him average more than 47 overall.
‘I’ve felt like my game has been pretty much there, you just sometimes need a bit behind you and a few extra runs,’ he added. ‘Sometimes you can be playing as well as you want but you need the scores – it’s what wins you games.
‘It’s been a while since I’ve had that amount of time out in the middle and you get really hungry for it sometimes. I felt like I got a groove going and wanted to keep it going as long as I could.
‘I felt busy at the crease and had a real good intent to score.’
Ollie Pope, batting at No.7 in Jos Buttler’s absence, shared in a 193-run stand with Root as the 21-year-old reined in
I felt like I got a groove going and I wanted to keep it going for as long as I could
his natural game to make a Test-best 75.
Root said: ‘You look at the way Ollie plays for Surrey in county cricket; he’s very free-flowing, someone that scores quite quickly and likes to put pressure on bowlers. He showed a lot maturity in the way he went about it.’
The pair helped turn a 106-run deficit at the start of the day into a first-innings lead of 101 but the Black Caps reached stumps on 96 for two, almost wiping out the arrears going into the final day.