England’s star right-handed batter Joe Root has had a forgettable ODI WC 2023. Joe Root has played a lot of funky and innovative shots which has done no good to the team. This can be because Joe Root played a lot of franchise cricket which may have hampered his natural game.
Joe Root was one of the architects of the 2019 ODI WC triumph and the batter used to stand tall from one end rather than playing a fearless brand of cricket. We must admit that Ben Stokes wasn’t at his best both in terms of game and fitness as his inability to bowl hurt the team a lot.
England now would be aiming to salvage some pride in the ODI WC 2023. All eyes would be on Jos Buttler who hasn’t been able to dictate the terms in the championship. There are chances that the wicket-keeper batter may bat up the order to up the ante.
Joe Root was the glue that held the innings together at one end- Sir Geoffrey Boycott
Sir Geoffrey Boycott wrote in his column for The Telegraph and said that a lot of English batters want to play an attacking brand of cricket and pointed out that this squad is the shadow of the WC winners four years ago. Sir Geoffrey Boycott stated that ODI Cricket has it’s own template and took a dig at England’s Bazball and said that Joe Root’s game actually got worsened up due to that technique.
“Too many of our guys just want to play crash, bang wallop all the time irrespective of the type of pitch or opposition. Again not smart. This squad is a shadow of the World Cup winners four years ago. Then it was played in England where our players were familiar with the grounds and pitches,” said Sir Geoffrey Boycott.
“Except for Joe Root, all our batsmen go hard at the ball. Many Indian pitches are good but can be a bit on the slow side with some balls stopping therefore you need to let the ball come to you a bit more. Play it later and work the ball with good wrists and hands. It is not too difficult to get used to but you do need practice and time in the middle to adjust your batting,” he stated.
“Joe Root was Mr Dependable, a superb 50-over cricketer, one of the best in the world at just working the ball around. Using his excellent technique, he was the glue that held the innings together at one end while other batsmen attacked at the other,” he added.
“This new wave of “gung-ho “ cricket by Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum in the Test side has sucked Joe Root into trying to score faster and attempting all kinds of funky shots with him making unusual mistakes,” he concluded.