Joe Root’s ton salvages England on first day of Bazball Ashes

If Jonny Bairstow is the patron saint of Bazball, Joe Root is its pillar. The face of calm amidst the raging chaos, the face of order amidst disorder, and arguably the central piece of England’s brave new approach. He re-emphasised his centrality in the scheme with a supremely-crafted hundred, his first against their fiercest rivals in eight years on a day neither side wrested ultimate control on an atypical Ashes first day, sans cloud cover and a devilishly bending Dukes ball.
The declaration, with the score on 393/8 and Root unbeaten on 118, should not necessarily surprise cricket-watchers. Conventional wisdom suggests that it could turn counter-intuitive. England did not achieve the desired result – Australia did not lose a wicket for 14 runs – and with the strip flat and bereft of lateral movement, the decision could come back to bite them.
But on such radical foundations are built the success of England’s new gospel in Test cricket. But the heart of Friday’s narrative was woven around Root, the classic who finds himself among cavaliers. Not that he has struggled to keep up with the pace of scoring under Brendon McCullum, but the hundreds suddenly began to dry up. Eleven innings passed without a ton, a period of drought where he eked out only 242 runs. But the century against New Zealand in February would reacquaint him with hundred-scoring ways.

We told you we’d entertain! 🏏💥
An all-action start to this #Ashes series
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— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 16, 2023
Four months and two innings later, he completed another hundred. The strike rate was 77, a touch beneath the dizzy Bazball-standards. But the purpose of the knock seemed to be how Root matters, how, in a sense, it is designed with the idea of him at the centre of it. Take Root out this equation, and the whole idea dissipates rapidly, the edifice looks shaky.
It’s the wholesomeness of his batting that dares those around him to dream. Here is a batsman of rare quality, with ability to thrive on any surface, of a skill to subdue any bowler, of the knack of solving any flaw of technique or mind. It’s hard to think of a contemporary batsman who has from time to time ironed the inevitable glitches in his game, harder it is to think of someone who could be expected to score in any condition. Swing, seam or spin, nothing fazes him. In the lineage of England batsmen in the post-War era, it’s difficult to pick another batsman that combined the technical finesse of Mike Atherton, the grit and graft of Alastair Cook and the stroke-making dazzle of Kevin Pietersen. Some consider him the finest his country has ever produced — it’s a long and futile comparison exercise — but Root merits to be counted among the greatest.

💯 reasons to LOVE this man!
A gorgeous hundred, Rooty ❤️
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— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 16, 2023
Making it look easy
The knock that ensured England did not endure a horror first day showed ample glimpses of the traits that make him a batting great. All along, he batted with the fluency of a racer on a freeway, the assurance of a monk, and the grit of a mountaineer tip-toeing past a cliff. No one troubled him. Neither Pat Cummins nor Scott Boland, the heroes of the World Test Championship final. Both were left marvelling at his reverse-ramping dexterity. It’s that shot where the old-fashioned tenets of still head and stable body yokes with new-age imagination and inventiveness. Neither Josh Hazlewood nor Nathan Lyon, the two best bowlers of the day, bother him. Lyon was ruthlessly reverse-swept, Hazlewood was glanced and glided away to the fence.
Root batted differently in different stages. At the start, he was watchful, feeding off the fast start that Zak Crawley had provided with a thrilling 61 off 73 balls. As he grew into his innings, Root stamped his authority on the bowlers. It’s the most fascinating phase of his knocks, when he paints the canvas with broad brushstrokes, when he bends the game and bowling to his will. He made Boland err on the leg-side; Hazlewood on the shorter side. It’s the aura of great batsmen. It was during this phase that he reverse-swept Lyon thrice in succession (two resulted in fours) and reverse-ramped Boland. The next phase has the wary, worldly-wise nature of middle age, a time when one is aware of the pitfalls of youth but not yet practising the abstinence of varnaprastha.

Anyone know what Rooty had for tea? 🤔
He RAMPS Scott Boland for six! 🔥
We’ll have what he’s having! 😉 #EnglandCricket | #Ashes pic.twitter.com/ajXQi3biYK
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 16, 2023
When Bairstow freewheeled to 78 off 78 balls, he played the faithful sidekick’s role. Their 121-run stand that repelled a mini-crisis, revived England from 176 for five and took them to close to 300 showed the importance of both batsmen in England’s refreshingly aggressive approach. The aggression of Bairstow does not achieve the intended effect without the assurance of Root. Root arms Bairstow and his like-minded colleagues with freedom.
Root was even more needed on Friday, when most of England’s batsmen recklessly threw their wickets away. Ben Duckett chased a really wide ball; Bairstow and Moeen Ali were stumped, after being beaten in the charge down the pitch; Ollie Pope swiped across the line; Ben Stokes chased a wide one. In the end, Root rescued England from calamity, he rescued Bazball from being ripped apart. It was the day Bazball realised how much it depends on Root, rather how central he is to their philosophy’s success.