

It was a pleasure to watch that." 'Talk of a batting masterclass is a bit OTT'Ĭricket fans, who were following the action via a live text, Test Match Special and with in-play clips on the BBC Sport website, were certainly animated by Root's innings - though not everyone was buying into the hype surrounding the knock.


Sir Alastair Cook, who has scored more Test runs than any other England batter in history, purred: "What an innings. Ordering the ball to go wherever he wants it to go. "Joe Root is like a magician," said former England bowler Isa Guha. One of the greatest shots I have seen in Test cricket." It was fearless theatre as boundary followed boundary.Īfter witnessing the six off Southee, former England captain Michael Vaughan told TMS: "Just remarkable. He then teamed up with Ben Foakes on day four in an approach to the morning of a Test rarely seen in the longest format. It included a 187-run stand with Ollie Pope at nearly 4.5 runs an over that formed the bedrock of England's reply before cutting loose with Ben Stokes as 61 runs were added from just 56 balls - an early sign perhaps of the new, bold attacking approach demanded by new England head coach Brendon McCullum.
