Joe Root did not have many reasons to smile as he addressed the media ahead of England’s flight to the Caribbean on Thursday.
There isn’t much humour to be found in addressing humiliation against Australia, least of all when you are lucky to still be in a job when three others have lost theirs. Nor addressing why a supposed remedy to those failings is to drop two bowling stalwarts when the batters are the root cause of that trauma. But he allowed himself a chuckle while addressing the other solution to arise from the Ashes post-mortem – his move up to number three in the order.
Like axing James Anderson and Stuart Broad, the shift from number four after a 2021 of 1,708 runs and six hundreds in that spot feels like needlessly losing a reliable aspect of an unreliable side. A trimming of the lips on an already noseless face. And the cause for Root’s smirks, however rueful, was that, unlike going into a Test series without Anderson or Broad, we’ve been here before.
A google of “Joe Root” and “number three” throws up over 43 million results. Each one that relates expressly to the batting position is either replete with his own words, those of coaches and teammates, or pontifications from pundits and punters. Each covering off why he should do it, why he shouldn’t, why it might work, why it wouldn’t.
The bare numbers back the negatives: Root averages 38.66 at three and 51.27 at four. The hunches, though, have never been satiated by those statistics, whether based on his technique and method or those who have tried and failed to make number three their own.
This time, however, there is one crucial difference. Having previously been convinced, cajoled and even negged the previous 53 times to bat at three, he is doing so entirely of his own volition.
“It’s the first time it’s sat comfortably with me,” he admitted. “It’s the first time I’ve been really excited and not slightly apprehensive about it.
“I’ve expressed in the past that I prefer batting at four but I’m ready to take on three now. I feel I’m very comfortable in the way I’ve been playing and performing over the last year or so and I think it’s the right fit for this team.”
Clarity is a key part in all this. The preference for number four has been reinforced partly due to the rigours of captaincy, affording him a bit of breathing room after fielding. Not that he’s regularly enjoyed much of a break given how often England are two down for not very many. But an average of 55 in the last 17 matches since the start of last year gives him greater faith in his method and temperament.
“I’m a better place to separate the two,” he said of juggling leadership and batting. “I’m not overthinking anything technical, I feel engaged with what’s in front of me.”
That faith, however, is about to be severely tested. Since the beginning of 2018, West Indies home games have seen seam bowlers average 21, the lowest on the Test circuit. England remain overly reliant on Root’s runs, wherever they come from, as showcased by an average of 36.47 in the 10 defeats suffered across those last 14. And it’s not for nothing that Root’s previous dalliances with number three shows he has no qualms sacking it off.
His first go came through circumstance during the 2013/14 Ashes, but the 2016 summer was the first time it arose in earnest. Root was excited by the long-term prospect of the role, and was almost immediately gorging on the fruit when he made 254 in the second Test of this period, against Pakistan, which remains his top score to date.
Even then, he had to be courted across the previous six months. First charmed by the head coach at the time, Trevor Bayliss, who effused the legacy-making potential of respected runs at first drop. Alastair Cook opted for a different tack, telling Root he should try batting where it really matters, even (jokingly) accusing him of “weaselling” down the order. Alas, six months later, in December of the same year, he gave it up.
There was talk of him reprising the position for the 2017/18 Ashes, but it was only after a 4-0 defeat in Australia, then the 1-0 loss in New Zealand, that he went back, announcing a desire to take on “a bit more responsibility at the top of the order”. Stop me if you think you’ve heard this one before.
After managing just two half-centuries in nine innings, he moved back to four for the final Test of that summer and scored his first century in over a year. And with that came the season four of England’s Next Number Three, won almost by Joe Denly almost by default, until the following summer when Root, as we were told at the time, put himself forward for the gig. Three ducks in four innings made him rue such a selfless act, like someone who volunteered for an airport drop off only to realise it was London Luton. Aside from a cameo appearance there for two Tests during the 2020 summer, that was seemingly the end of this reluctant relationship.
No doubt there is a bit of posturing behind this latest Root call. It was telling that after a winter of being called out by Australian commentators for seeming meek that Root spoke of showing “a bit of leadership and responsibility and take the game on” as part of his reasoning.
As with the dropping of Anderson and Broad, there is the chance this gamble, however unnecessary, creates a situation for others to thrive. The majority of promising batters coming through are better suited for middle-order berths, whether that’s Ollie Pope and Dan Lawrence who are in the squad, or those on the periphery such as Lancashire’s Josh Bohannon.
Having spent the last few years forcing square pegs into round holes, success for Root at three will benefit others. In many ways, Root, however well-rounded his edges, is taking it upon himself to be the uncomfortable one. And as great a risk as it is to his form, the success of a team in disarray and his tenure as captain, it is probably one worth taking.
