Joe Root admitted he is now truly loving life without the burden of captaincy after his masterful unbeaten century helped England take control of the second Test in Wellington.
The becalmed half of a record 302-run stand with Harry Brook, Root took over the role of aggressor once the younger man fell having added only two runs to his overnight score of 184, allowing Ben Stokes to deliver another aggressive declaration at 435 for eight.
Unfurling a reverse scoop for six off Tim Southee in the second over of the day, and following it with some more inventive strokeplay, Root turned 101 from 182 balls into 153 not out from 224 before Jimmy Anderson and Jack Leach set about undermining New Zealand’s batting lineup.
Though it was a fourth century since relinquishing the captaincy last year, Root revealed the motivation for this first in eight matches – and his initially watchful response to England’s troubling 21 for three on day one – was a case of giving something back to the team. It was the 14th time in 29 Test centuries he has passed the 150 mark. “I felt like I owed that to the group,” said Root.
“It’s been a while since I made a solid contribution. As a batter you pride yourself on delivering in those situations where things aren’t perfect when you walk out to bat.”
On how life differs now compared with his final year as captain – when England won once in 17 Tests under suffocating Covid restrictions – Root added: “You get more time to yourself. The less mental energy I spend thinking about the game has been really beneficial. “When things were going well for me, it was very easy to manage. Towards the back end, with all the different aspects that occurred, it made it quite challenging at times. That can stay in the past now. I’m just loving being a part of everything right now and hopefully for a long time to come.”
Brook fell to a wonderful juggling caught and bowled from Matt Henry first thing, amid figures of 100 for the seamer, but could still reflect on his fourth century in six Tests.
Root added: “He’s making everyone’s life so much easier. He manages to put pressure back on bowlers, hit them off their lengths and wrestles momentum back in your favour. As well as I felt I played, a lot of credit has to go to him because he’s almost playing on a different planet, on a completely different surface to everyone else. He’s got such confidence, such skill and ability. It’s a joy to watch, I felt like I had the best seat in the house.”
Root, who spent more than five years taking the responsibility for decisions such as Stokes’s “brilliant” and “brave” declaration as skipper, was full of praise for his successor’s ability to affect the game.
“I just think it was a brilliant call from Ben,” he said. “It would have been very easy for us to keep going and, if we had, we might not be sat here with them seven down now. Credit to him, he’s just walked so naturally into the role, he’s managing the game really well and everyone is responding to it.
“It just seemed a very brave and attacking option. Full credit to Ben, as you’d expect, for taking it on. The decisions he’s making under pressure, the way that he’s managing the team and his players, is as good as I’ve seen.”
