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How important is Joe Root to England’s ODI team? | Analysing the impact of Joe Root in England’s ODI team of hard-hitters and big strikers

It was Joe Root – a survivor of England’s calamitous 2015 World Cup campaign – that launched Eoin Morgan’s ODI revolution at Edgbaston on June 9 that same year. A superb century set England on their way to amassing 408-9 against New Zealand, their then highest ODI score.

Root’s century, punctuated with trademark cover drives and back foot punches, was brought up off only 71 balls, making it the third-fastest by an England batsman. However, such was the pace of Morgan’s white ball revolution that his century now sits 12th on that list. Indeed, Jos Buttler that very same day ensured Root’s entry into the top three lasted only two hours, registering a century of his own off a mere 66 balls.

To understand Root’s role in England’s ODI team, you have to look at his fellow protagonists in the white ball revolution. England’s top six have amassed formidable strike rates since the 2015 World Cup. Buttler, widely considered the poster boy for the new era, leads the way striking at 123. The bludgeoning opening pair of Roy and Bairstow have amassed their runs at 107 and 106 respectively per 100 balls. England’s middle order left-handers, Morgan and Stokes, at 99 and 98, and the now forgotten Hales striking at a shade under 98.

When it comes to raw power, you can’t look past Roy and Stokes. If it’s innovation, Buttler and Captain Morgan are your go-tos. Few in the world, let alone England, can match Bairstow’s belligerent consistency at the top of the order.

Yet, ask most England fans: who do you want to see coming to the crease in a tight situation? The answer will be Joe Root. That scenario presented itself in what was then the biggest test for the new England – the opening game of the 2019 Cricket World Cup against South Africa. For once the Roy and Bairstow combination failed, as Bairstow edged Imran Tahir through to de Kock first ball. Faf du Plessis threw a surprise in the shape of his 40-year- old leg spinner, and England were a little stunned. As English nerves were frayed, would England fluff their lines yet again on the biggest stage?

Out came Root, who played a characteristically assured innings, finding gaps in the field, running hard and taking the sting out of a buoyed South African attack. By the time he was dismissed, for a well compiled 51 off 59 balls, he had put on over 100 with Jason Roy. The platform was established for Morgan and Stokes to propel England to 311, a lower total than some of the scores they had become accustomed to, but one that proved far beyond South Africa. The stage was set; Root went on to score 556 runs in the tournament – the most for an England player and the seventh most overall in a single World Cup.

Yet Root’s value isn’t just that of providing stability when his belligerent teammates fail. On nine occasions Root has scored 50 or more when England have posted totals in excess of 350. Yet, in contrast to some of his teammates, his exploits sometimes hardly make it into despatches. In 2016 when England set what was then an ODI world record – pillaging 444-3 at Trent Bridge against Pakistan – Root made a fine 85 at a strike rate of 98.84. His contribution however was reduced to a mere footnote as Alex Hales laid waste to the Pakistan attack with a thunderous knock of 171 off 122 balls.

Against the Windies at Bristol in 2017 it was Moeen Ali who took the limelight. A brutal knock of 102 off 57, in which he moved from 50 to 100 in just 12 balls, powered England to 369-9. Moeen in typically self-effacing style played down his knock, commenting “I just had a slog and everything came off”. A fine slog indeed, but one that would have been less likely without a characteristically assured 84 off 79 from Root, who guided them from a perilous 74-3.

Against Afghanistan in the 2019 Cricket World Cup, Eoin Morgan launched an assault on the Afghan bowling attack that bordered on gruesome; the England skipper hit a world record 17 sixes on his way to 148 in 71 balls. Root, in contrast, managed only the single six, as he fell for 88 at a strike rate of 107.31 – more than 100 fewer than Morgan’s.

In this context, one can see Root’s overshadowed Edgbaston century at the dawn of the era as emblematic of his entire ODI career. A career that, in most other teams and any other era for England, would take central billing. Since the 2015 World Cup Root has a strike rate above 90, with eight of his 12 centuries in that period coming at better than a run a ball. His career strike rate sits above Kevin Pietersen and Marcus Trescothick – both considered ahead of their time in conservative England ODI setups. Root has achieved these feats while maintaining an average of 50.10 which, among batsmen to have played at least 40 innings, is the ninth best ever and second best for England behind Jonathan Trott. Yet, despite his status as one of the best batsmen produced by England, his contributions are regularly reduced to the supporting act.

It’s not always a glamorous role but what Root does for the England ODI team is valued and appreciated. For all the glitz and glamour of England’s new era, it is built on the most solid of foundations. Root is the glue – a pressure valve allowing the rest of the line-up to play their natural games. For a supposed anchor, he possesses almost all the shots and scores runs all around the wicket. His game is versatile enough to rebuild if the situation requires or drive home the advantage when the team is ahead. His innings might not be what the spectators go home talking about, but his contributions are not lost on teammates and supporters alike.

Written by Adam Sutherland. Follow Adam on Twitter today.