English cricketer, Joe Root claims that the “kick up the backside” he received from his half-century in the second innings of England’s first-Test victory over New Zealand.
The former captain’s streak of seven Tests without a hundred is his longest in the past two years.
He made 57 off 62 balls in Mount Maunganui, looking fluid as England defeated them by 267 runs.
“I’ve not performed for a little while, so I had the bit between my teeth in the second innings,” said Root.
“It’s given me a little sharpener, a kick up the backside, that this is how I need to play my cricket, how I can be consistently useful in this group.”
Root was in unmatched form from the start of 2021 to the middle of last summer, scoring 11 hundreds in 24 Test matches while averaging 61.
Even though his captaincy collapsed , with England winning just one of his final 17 Tests, his batting form held up well.
After relinquishing the captaincy in May of last year, Root’s form initially remained strong, with three hundreds in four Test matches.
However, Root’s form has declined as England has improved under Stokes—the victory at the Bay Oval was their 10th in 11 games.
The 32-year-old believes it will “take some time” for him to fully adjust to England’s ultra-aggressive style under Stokes.
“There was the initial relief of coming out of the captaincy and now I’m just trying to find out what my role is within this team,” said Root.
“I’ve maybe got a bit caught up in it, but I’m not too far away from what’s given me success. I didn’t feel I tried to force it in the second innings and when I’m playing well that’s one of my strengths: I can score freely and I can rotate the strike.
“I felt like I found a really good tempo in how I wanted to bat. “
Under the leadership of Stokes and Brendon McCullum, England’s swashbuckling batting has seen Root regularly reverse-scoop pace bowlers.
In the first innings at Mount Maunganui he executed the stroke against left-armer Neil Wagner and picked up a boundary. When he attempted the stroke again, he was caught at slip to be dismissed for 14.
But the Yorkshire player says that setback will not stop him from attempting the shot again in Test cricket.
“You take calculated risks,” said Root. “I’ve got where I’ve got to by trusting my gut. It just didn’t quite work out.
“It’s not going to stop me playing it. It’s now part of my Test game and I’ll continue to utilise it when it’s the right time.”
England will look to win the series in the second and final Test in Wellington, which begins on Friday (22:00 GMT Thursday).
The tourists are aiming for a seventh successive Test win, a feat not achieved by England since Michael Vaughan’s team won eight in a row in 2004.
New Zealand have recalled pace bowler Matt Henry, who missed the first Test because of the birth of his first child. Fellow seamer Jacob Duffy and leg-spinner Ish Sodhi have been released from the Black Caps’ squad.