If England are to have any hope of success in the series against Pakistan, then the weight of runs emanating from Joe Root’s bat are likely to be a decisive factor.
That was the case in the English summer, when Root’s 460 runs against Australia, including two centuries, inspired Alastair Cook’s side to an Ashes victory few outside of the dressing-room believed was possible before the series began. The same could be said of the upcoming challenge against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates, with the first of three Tests starting here in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
Big runs are what Root has dealt in almost exclusively over the past 18 months, that man-of-the-series display against Australia the crowning glory to a golden run of form across all formats that has resulted in the 24-year-old joining Steve Smith, Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson as one of the leading batsman in the world.
Now, away from home comforts and facing a Pakistan side who are undefeated in all seven series they have played in the Emirates, Root is determined to prove he really is a man for all seasons and conditions.
“A big series for me would be winning it, if I’m being honest,” he says. “No one’s won here against Pakistan; that’d be really pleasing for me to be part of a team who have come into these conditions and done what no other side has done before. What would make it even more pleasing would be if I was one of the guys that made big runs.
“That’s going to be the same wherever I go, whether that be home Test matches or going abroad to play in South Africa, here, Australia or wherever. I’ll always want to make sure I’m helping to set up wins for England. This tour’s no different, and I’m looking forward to getting going and getting off to a good start.”
It was, of course, in India where Root made his Test debut three years ago, in Nagpur, scoring 73 in his first international innings to help secure the draw that sealed England’s first series win in the country for 27 years.
“It’s nice to be back in those sort of conditions,” he says. “I want to make some big contributions this series and I’m going to have to play extremely well to do that.”
The driving force behind Root’s hunger for runs is a desire to again help this England side prove the naysayers wrong. It is a tough ask given that the last England team to tour here were ranked No1 in the world and still lost the Test series 3-0.
“As a team, to beat Pakistan here, it’s going to be a big effort, but we’ve proven over the past six months that we’re capable of doing things that, maybe, look a bit too much for us,” says Root. “We’re very confident going into this series.”
Behind the baby-faced grin, lies a player whose competitive spirit burns brighter than most. That’s why England appointed Root to be Cook’s vice-captain at the start of the summer.
It’s also why, at the age of 12, at King Ecgbert’s comprehensive in Sheffield, he threw a strop when he missed out on the school’s sports personality of the year award to a girl who had done well at athletics. That girl? The future Olympic heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis-Hill.
Root was playing men’s cricket at the same age, for the Sheffield Collegiate Club, alongside his dad, Matt, whom he ordered to shave an inch off either side of his bat to hone his accuracy at the crease.
That same attention to detail is the secret behind Root’s success at international level.
“I keep it as simple and basic as possible in practice, and I’m quite relentless at times,” he says. “I just get the boring stuff done that sometimes you might think you don’t need to do but, for me, it’s really important.”
England will face a trial against spin from Tuesday, and Root is expecting plenty of chat.
“I’m sure there’ll be a lot of men round the bat making life difficult – and having some pleasant conversations as well,” he says. “They’re trying to unsettle you, and that’s part of Test cricket.”
To prepare for that, England are practising in the nets with music blasting out of speakers. “It’s about creating an atmosphere to make it a little bit more difficult, so you’re not just going through the motions.”
If there is one man that could never be accused of that, it is Root.
