Joe Root saves England. This line has been written by cricket writers all over the world in the last decade. Ever since Alastair Cook retired from international cricket in 2018, Root has been the lone saviour. The former England skipper did so once again. Put in to bat first by Sri Lanka at Lord’s, the opening stand lasted 41 balls. Captain Ollie Pope walked in and soon returned.
Joe Root overtakes Cook
42/2. More often than not, this has been the score when Root walks in. The 7th highest run-scorer in Test history was saved early in his innings when the on-field umpire struck down an appeal. Root would’ve had to walk back if the umpire had raised his finger, but it wasn’t to be for Sri Lanka.
He capitalized on that reprieve. Milking the bowlers for singles and hitting a boundary ever so often. Ben Duckett and Harry Brook failed to build on their early starts. 130/4 it was, with just one recognized batter in Jaime Smith to come. Cut to the end of the first day, England were 358/7. Root scored 143 of these runs.
He leveled Cook’s tally for most hundreds by an English (33) with a four over the gully region and raised his arms in the air as the crowd chanted ‘Roooooot’. In the first Test, he went past Rahul Dravid and Alan Border’s tally for most half-centuries, and today he decided to break Cook’s record. If it weren’t for his ton that glued the innings together, England might’ve not even gotten to 200, much less ending the day with over 350 runs and with three wickets still in hand.
Atkinson aids Root
Gus Atkinson also deserves some credit. Although Root did most of the heavy lifting, it was the pacer who scored just his 4th ever first-class half-century to keep England afloat. After Jamie Smith and Chris Woakes departed and with Root yet to reach his hundred, Atkinson arrived.
He ended the day unbeaten (74) and was a major reason why Root managed to take the team from 216/6 to 308 before he fell to his own folly (reverse ramp). Atkinson was joined by Matthew Potts, and the pacers managed to fight off the Sri Lankan bowler, stitching a 50-run stand.
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