He’d be there for an hour batting on one leg: Joe Root’s father

The former England captain Joe Root has gradually attained legendary status in international cricket. Last week, he became only the second England and 14th overall to reach the milestone of scoring 10,000 runs in the red-ball format.

After scoring a century in the 1st Test at Lord’s, he followed it up with a terrific knock of 176 in the ongoing 2nd fixture of the Eng vs NZ Test series at Trent Bridge. With this knock, he equalled scoring 27 centuries in the longest format with Virat Kohli and Steve Smith.

His father, Matt Root, has shed light on his son’s love and dedication for the game of cricket. 

Matt reckoned that Joe loves to bat and would always be with the willow in his younger days. 

“Joe just loves batting,” he explained. “As a kid, wherever someone would bowl at him, he’d be there with a bat,” Matt Root said on Test Match Special. 

Matt further revealed that during the pandemic, Joe used the batting feeders at his personal academy and used to bat on one leg to improve his balance at the crease. 

“During COVID, he got one of the Root Academy ball feeders that we have, and he’d be there for an hour batting on one leg for balance. There’s a video somewhere of him doing it,” he added. 

On Day 5 of the ongoing 2nd Test match, New Zealand was dismissed for 284, with Daryl Mitchell emerging as the top-scorer with 62 runs. 

Chasing 299, the home team lost Zak Crawley (0) in the second over. However, Alex Lees has started on a promising note, and it will be interesting to see if Ollie Pope and Joe Root can support him in the cause and help England chase down the score and win the series.