Joe Root‘s relief was right there on his face when he declared Ashes selection as “not my concern anymore”. Joe Root, the England captain from 2017 to 2022 whose fine run of form was a key feature of the recent drawn home Test series with India, which captivated even the most casual of followers, scarcely drew a breath before launching into the Hundred with Trent Rockets.
But it all forms part of his evolution, which has him enjoying one of his best seasons to date and playing with greater freedom, ahead of his first Ashes series in Australia unburdened by the captaincy since 2013.
Joe Root’s two subsequent Test tours of Australia featured plenty of off-field drama that he had to deal with as skipper including, in his words, the post-Covid restrictions surrounding the 2021-22 series, for which Ben Stokes was added to the squad after an injury lay-off just 10 days before they departed.
Before that, Stokes missed the 2017-18 Ashes in the aftermath of the Bristol nightclub affair and Jonny Bairstow was embroiled in a bizarre “headbutt incident” (inverted commas gestured by Joe Root) with Australia’s Cameron Bancroft which turned out to be a proverbial storm.
Joe Root was the second-highest run-scorer in the India series with 537 at 67.12. His innings-to-century ratio in Tests for 2025 is the best it’s been in a calendar year at 3.33 and his conversion rate is also superior after turning three of his four 50-plus scores into centuries. The other was an unbeaten 53 in a successful run chase as England went 1-0 up in the India series.
In terms of batting average, Joe Root’s 63.44 for 2025 so far is his third-best after 2014 (97.12) and 2023 (65.58) in years where he has scored 100 runs or more. During India’s visit, Joe Root also moved to No. 2 on the all-time leading run-scorer’s chart, after Sachin Tendulkar, and posted his 39th century in the format, putting him fourth behind Tendulkar, Jacques Kallis and Ricky Ponting. But, after 158 Tests, Joe Root said it wasn’t so much the milestones that kept him going.
English batter Joe Root is eager to notch his first century and victory in Australia when he goes Down Under for the upcoming Ashes later this year. Joe Root, who became the second-highest Test run-scorer of all-time during the recent Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, averages 35.68 in Australia, but has not managed to reach three figures in three tours to the country. His highest score on those tours in 89, scored at Brisbane during the 2021-22 Ashes.
Joe Root has not won a Test in Australia in any of his three tours either. This includes two tours (2017/18 and 2021) as captain, both of which ended in 4-0 defeats.Reflecting on those tours, Joe Root said: “There were a lot of distractions,” referring to the last two Ashes series in Australia.
Former England spinner Monty Panesar feels Joe Root could well be on the same Test career decline as Virat Kohli in the later stages of his career, if he once again fails to score in Australia. The upcoming Ashes tour promises to be a stern challenge not only for England as a team but also for Joe Root, who recently climbed to second place on the list of all-time leading Test run-scorers.
Joe Root has been the standout batter in the post-COVID era, yet one glaring omission remains in his illustrious career — he is still searching for his first century in Australia. Across 27 innings Down Under, Joe Root has amassed 892 runs at an average of 35.68, with nine fifties to his name. On three occasions, he has passed 80, but the elusive three-figure score continues to evade him.
As Joe Root gears up for another Ashes campaign, Monty Panesar believes that it could well determine the future of the star batter’s career in Tests, as a bad series for him and the team could raise doubts.
Monty Panesar hands a brutal reality check to Joe Root ahead of Ashes 2025-26
World No. 1 Test batter Joe Root is arguably England’s greatest cricketer of all time. Since making his international debut against India during a Test match played in Nagpur from December 13 to 17 in 2012, the right-handed batter from Yorkshire has scored 21,562 runs in 370 matches played across formats.
Of those 21,562 runs, Joe Root has scored 13,543 in Test cricket itself. He is the second-highest run getter in the five-day format of the game. But despite his super record in Test cricket, one country where Joe Root has struggled to score runs is Australia. He has played 14 Test matches in Australia but has only managed to score 892 runs with an average of 35.68.
Joe Root, who has 39 Test centuries to his name (fourth in the all-time list), has never scored a century in Australia. He has nine fifties in 14 Tests and four half-centuries in 14 ODIs played so far in Australia. Joe Root will travel to Australia later this year for the 2025-26 edition of the Ashes series with the English team and would like to end the long wait for a maiden century in Australia.
But ahead of England’s trip to Australia for the Ashes, former England spinner Monty Panesar has given a brutal reality check to his former English teammate. According to him, the upcoming series will be a crucial one for Joe Root because a flop show in Australia could end his Test career.
“It really depends how next year goes for him, how the Ashes go, we saw very much with Virat Kohli, right? He went to Australia, and he just didn’t know what to do with that ball outside fourth and fifth stump. I think that kind of led to his decision or a collective decision for him to retire. And yeah, if Joe Root doesn’t have a good Ashes series and it goes really bad for him,” Panesar was quoted as saying by India Today.
“Suddenly all it takes is one series, and you look, it’s a different ball game altogether. England could lose their coach and their captain; if it’s a very bad series, a few jobs could be done. Suddenly people begin questioning, ‘Is he past his best?’ So it’s very important when you go to Australia, doesn’t matter how good you are, you’ve got to perform in Australia,” he added.
Panesar, who played a big role in England’s historic Test series win in India in 2012, also feels that it will be very difficult for Joe Root to score a century in Australia because of the strong Australian bowling attack.
“It’s going to be very difficult for him because he’s going to be facing a strong Australian attack, and this is probably one of the strongest bowling attacks we’ve seen. But from the form he’s shown and the runs he’s scoring, he would probably want to score 100. I’m sure there will be one of those Test matches where the wicket isn’t so bouncy and there’s not so much pace in it, possibly at Adelaide or even in Melbourne, depending on the conditions.”
“Well, he’s got a chance, but anything a bit bouncy or quick, I think, it’d be, it’d be a little bit difficult for him,” he added.
Monty Panesar also backed Root to break Sachin Tendulkar’s record for the most runs in Test cricket. However, he cautioned that a poor series in Australia could have a significant impact on Root, emphasising the importance of making runs Down Under.
“I recently said he could reach 18,000 runs — and I know Indian fans weren’t too happy! But look, he’s averaged around 50 in his last 20 Tests. If he keeps that up, and plays for another 4–5 years like Sachin did, it’s possible. But it’s a long road,” he said.
Joe Root has been taking giant strides in his Test career in every series and only sits second on the list of all-time run scorers with 13,543 runs, with only Sachin Tendulkar (15,921 runs) ahead of him. England’s best batter has a big series ahead of him, and like Panesar pointed it out, it could well determine if he goes to break Tendulkar’s record or not.
The former England captain will have a lot to prove in the Ashes 2025-26 set to begin on November 21. Given the form he’s in, playing in Australia should be just another game for him. However, given the history and the enormity of the series, Joe Root is bound to feel jitters and will have to play out of his skin to conquer the only summit, which remains untouched by him in his illustrious career.
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