Joe Root hogged the limelight on day 1 of the ongoing first Ashes Test at Edgbaston with a classy century. The former England skipper once again rescued his team as he took his century tally in Tests to 30.
Batting first on a good batting surface, England were in a spot of bother after being reduced to 176 for 5 despite an impressive 61-run knock from opener Zak Crawley. But before the visitors could inflict more damage on the home side, Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow put their team in a good position by adding 121 runs for the 6th wicket.
The partnership was broken when Bairstow was dismissed by Nathan Lyon for run-a-ball 78. Root then went on to combine with the lower-order players to take the score to 393 for 8 before Ben Stokes boldly decided to declare the innings. Root was unbeaten on 118. In reply, Australia ended the day on 14 for no loss.
Jonny Bairstow’s warning for Joe Root:
As Joe Root continued his stunning form in Tests, Jonny Bairstow believes that there is no stopping his teammate as of now. Speaking at the end of the day, Bairstow stated that Root will be after 25,000 Tests runs and will be looking to play 10 more years.
No player in the history of the game has managed to score 25000 Test runs. The record for most Test runs is currently held by Sachin Tendulkar who scored 15921 runs. As far as Root is concerned, he has currently scored 11122 runs with the help of 30 centuries.
“He’ll be after 25,000 runs and another 10 years in the game.” Joe’s performances have been outstanding for such a long period of time,” Bairstow said.
“That’s his 30th Test hundred, he’s played 130-odd Test matches, averaged over 50 – predominantly in England – and he’s been absolutely fantastic. It’s taken a lot of skill, endeavour and patience, but the way he manipulated the strike and tempo was fantastic,” he added.
Speaking further, Bairstow opened up on his century-plus stand with Root that rescued England from a precarious spot. He also expressed his delight over batting with Root as he opened up on the close relationship he shares with the batting star.
“We had to dig in and find a way to put pressure back on the opposition – some days it hasn’t worked but today it did and you’d have taken 390-odd for eight after being 170-odd for five.
“It’s really special because he’s someone I’ve known for a long time, through thick and thin – we’ve experienced a lot of different things together – and it was an absolute pleasure to be out there with him.
“He’s probably got another 10 years left in the game and he will be after 25,000 Test runs or something stupid like playing until he’s 55. But he loves batting, he loves the big occasion and he loves representing his country,” said Bairstow.
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