Former England captain and commentator Nasser Hussain has showered rich praise on Joe Root after he made his 100th Test match even more memorable by hitting a magnificent century in India on Friday (February 5) in the ongoing first Test in Chennai.
Many experts had been doubting Root when he went through a lean patch last year as he couldn’t reach the hundred-run mark in 2020, but the England Test skipper made a dazzling comeback to form and it started in Sri Lanka where he made 228 and 186 in the two Tests last month.
Well, the right-hander has continued his amazing form with the bat in India too in the ongoing four-match Test series, cracking a wonderful century on his 100th Test appearance for England at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday.
Following his back-to-back hundreds in Test cricket, Hussain said Root has proved he’s a true great and belongs to the “Fab Four” alongside Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, and Steve Smith.
Hussain wrote in his column for Sky Sports: “It’s fitting that Joe Root proved he’s a true great by scoring a hundred in his 100th Test. Some people were starting to doubt if he belongs to that group of Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, and Steve Smith when he went through a lean patch last year – but don’t forget he was still averaging 40 in that period!”
He further added, “During the long break enforced by lockdown and the COVID-19 pandemic he thought ‘how am I going to go back to being the Joe Root that I was?’ He watched videos of various people and looked at his game and three hundred in a row suggest he’s analyzed his game pretty well!”
Meanwhile, former England batsman Ian Bell was also agreed with Hussain's views by saying the 30-year-old has worked extremely hard on his game during the COVID-19 break.
Bell told ESPNcricinfo: “The four players that we talk about, the other three, they play at such a high level and are so consistent over a period of time. Joe himself said he didn’t score a century in 2020 which isn’t up to the standard or consistency he has played at over a period of time. What I do know is that in the break due to COVID he has worked extremely hard in the little technical areas and he has the hunger to get better.”
He also said 2021 is a career-defining year for Root both as captain and as a batsman, adding: “This is a big year for him when you are touring Indian away and Ashes away, they are big big series and are career-defining. It has been a perfect start as a captain and also Joe Root the batsman.”
Bell added believes that Root will play a key role for England to win the ongoing Test series in India like Alastair Cook did in 2012. He added, “And from an English point of view that’s what we need. If England have any chance of winning you need special things. We saw Alastair Cook do that in 2012 and Joe Root is that player now, if he has a special series then we don’t know what can happen.”
He signed off by saying, “It’s day one and England have got the best of conditions. If England wants anything out of these 12-18 months then Root has to lead from the front which he is doing.”
