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Joe Root having tons of fun once more as England Test captain hits form at perfect time

Mic drop: Joe Root: Getty Images
Mic drop: Joe Root: Getty Images

England needed just one run to win, but Joe Root got just enough on his plinked pull shot for it to dribble to the fence and complete his second unbeaten century in four days and seal the series.

Skipper Eoin Morgan, at the other end, had been willing the ball to the boundary and turned just in time to see Root, in stony-faced celebration, stretch out his arm and let his bat fall to earth.

The ‘mic drop’, more commonly associated with comedians and rappers and used by folk as varied as Eddie Murphy, Barack Obama and Root’s Yorkshire team-mate Jack Brooks, is a bold play, but perhaps your second successive century to win a big series on your home ground following a run of indifferent form is as decent a time as any to get it out.

Perhaps not. “A statement? No, he made a fool of himself,” chided Morgan, and the sense that Root has not heard the last of this from his team-mates was hammered home by Jos Buttler, whose batting had not even been required in an eight-wicket shellacking with 33 balls to spare. He posted a picture of the incident on Instagram with the caption: “What. A. Melt”. For those of you who do not spend your evenings watching Love Island, Buttler was suggesting that Root is a plonker.

If Saturday’s Lord’s hundred marked the return of Root’s runs, this one marked the return of his cheeky side. He has had to grow up fast over the last couple of years: taking over a struggling Test side; becoming a father; watching his best all-rounder Ben Stokes getting himself in trouble.

The transition from sportsman to statesman can weigh heavily. If his form has not necessarily been hindered, his conversion rate might have. He has a lot on his plate, and England are always looking to manage his time. His lack of responsibility in the ODI side — he is third, perhaps fourth, in the chain of command — always looks liberating.

But this was the celebration of the carefree boy who giggled uncontrollably when an unfortunate bounce saw Alastair Cook take a Dukes ball to the groin at slip during the 2015 Ashes, then celebrated that series win by charging round the dressing room doing Bob Willis impressions. The cheeky chappy who Australians wanted to take a swing at. David Warner did.

One down after the series opener at Trent Bridge, England needed their senior players to step up. Root had been dropped for the final T20 at Bristol, then confounded again by Kuldeep Yadav in Nottingham, stretching his fifty-less run to eight innings. By anyone else’s standards, Root would not have looked out of form; but he is silkier than almost anyone else, and did.

Since Saturday, though, Root has set a win up (his run out at Lord’s has since been reversed, because he and David Willey did not cross) and finished one off to turn England’s fortunes in a vital series and leave absolutely no doubt about the importance of his role in this ODI side. When the bowling is better and the situation tighter, his class is required. He was dropped on 59 and stumped off a no-ball on 69 on Tuesday, but this was largely a low-risk innings, simply walking England over the line.

He shared 186 with Morgan, who made 88, and never looked bothered, even against Kuldeep, whose first three balls at him this tour got him out twice. Root is a fast learner and, again, a record-breaker; on Tuesday he overtook Marcus Trescothick as England’s leading ODI century-maker. There is every chance he could double his tally of 13.

Root’s runs are even more important to the Test team than Morgan’s ODI side so, with the First Test a fortnight away, his return to form has come at the perfect time. He will now prepare with the Roses match — against Jimmy Anderson — from Sunday.

“It’s extremely encouraging for Joe,” said Morgan. “The composure he’s shown in the last two games is the Joe Root we know and trust. He has been hungry for runs and I’m sure that will continue.”

For Morgan, the series win was extremely encouraging: his team have won eight straight bilateral series, and beaten every opponent in their most recent series. Only Afghanistan arrive for next year’s World Cup having not been beaten on English soil since 2015 — and they have not played them.

Victory over India was perhaps the biggest of the lot.

This summer's white-ball winners

Adil Rashid

(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

Forms a brilliant pair with Moeen Ali. Rashid bamboozled Australia, taking 12 wickets, while India found him just as tricky in the final two games (he ended up with six against them). His ball to dismiss Virat Kohli at Headingley yesterday was a ripper, and he is capable of turning a game. Has sped up and adapted to survive and even thrive, while Moeen’s discipline and Morgan’s management give him licence to attack.

David Willey

(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

The left-arm swinging all-rounder has quietly had a superb summer. Twice made his highest ODI score, including his first fifty, as he adapts to being a finisher. Better still was his bowling, which has developed rapidly and delivered him 12 wickets in five ODIs.

Now he is a threat up top and is nailing yorkers at the death. Mark Wood lifted his game too, and the pair will battle for one spot.

The Openers

(Action Images via Reuters)
(Action Images via Reuters)

Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow are England’s greatest ODI opening partnership. This summer, each made two centuries and averaged north of 50 with strike-rates above 110 (Bairstow’s was 140!). When their partnership made it out of the first over, they had a lowest stand of 63, and averaged 84 with three century stands. Neither takes huge risks, they just boss the powerplay. There is good cover, but these two have pulled away.