Former England Test captain Joe Root played a knock of an unbeaten century which helped the new captain Ben Stokes start his reign with a give-wicket win against the reigning World Test champions New Zealand in the first Test in Lord’s on Sunday, May 5.
The win put England 1-0 lead in a three match series. New Zealand had set 277 runs to win and England finished with 279 with a day to spare, after they had slumped to 69/4. In an unbroken partnership of 120 runs between Joe Root and wicket-keeper Ben Foakes (32 runs not out), New Zealand couldn’t get a breakthrough when England had resumed after 216/5.
After five years, captaining record 64 games, Joe Root stepped down as England’s Test captain in April this year. But as a batsman, he is still one of the best. With his a composed and unbeaten 115 runs (also his 26th Test hundred), he became just the 14 batsman and only second to reach the milestone of 10,000 career Test runs. Equalling retired England’s captain Alastair Cook‘s record, Joe Root was also the joint youngest player to score 10,000 Test runs.
Watch how England’s dressing room welcomed their ‘hero’ Joe Root:
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“I had an ‘unhealthy relationship’ with England captaincy”- Joe Root
After his show on Sunday, Joe Root admitted, “”It had become a very unhealthy relationship to be honest, the captaincy and me. It started to really take a bad toll on my own personal health. I couldn’t leave it at the ground any more, it was coming home. It wasn’t fair on my family, on people close to me, and it wasn’t fair on myself either.”
“I had thrown everything at it and I was determined to help turn this team around but I realised over that time at home that it would have to be in a different way. I’m very excited to do that now and to do everything I can to help Ben [Stokes] really turn this team around and make this team the force it should and can be,” he added.
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