Joe Root has been in sensational form in Tests for quite some time now. The right-handed batsman has been the most prolific run-scorer in Tests in the last couple of years. While he did not enjoy a good outing as a captain and eventually stepped down last year, it did not affect his batting.
Joe Root has been piling up runs consistently in Tests since 2021. 2021 was a year for the ages for the former England skipper as he smashed a staggering 1708 runs in 15 matches at an average 61. He also hit 6 centuries that year. The runs scored by him in 2021 are the third-most scored in a calendar year in the history of Test cricket.
2022 was also a good year with the bat for Joe Root. He breached the 1000-run mark last year, scoring 1098 runs in15 games at an average of almost 46. The right-hander also hit 5 centuries and a couple of fifties.
Joe Root the best among Fab Four?
Joe Root’s stunning display in Tests in recent months has once again compelled the cricket community to re-open the debate on Fab Four – a popular term coined by the cricket fraternity to club together the four best batsmen of this generation. The batsmen are Joe Root, Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson and Steve Smith.
Not very long, Kohli and Smith were considered way ahead of the other two while Root was usually seen as the weakest in the club. In fact, many opined that the England star should be replaced by Babar Azam in the Fab Four.
He is just ??? good ?
Joe Root taking control ?
The former England captain is just playing the New Zealand bowlers right now… #NZvENG pic.twitter.com/AsqAgsFVQH
— Cricket on BT Sport (@btsportcricket) February 24, 2023
Well, things have changed by leaps and bounds in the last couple of years and it won’t be wrong to say that Root has been the best performer among the Fab Four in recent times. A stat about the centuries scored in the last two years is enough to prove that Root has been miles ahead of the other three members of the club.
At the start of 2021, Root was the only member to have less than 20 centuries. While he had only hit 17 Test hundreds, Kohli, Smith and Williamson had scored 27, 26 and 24 respectively. Fast forward to 2023, Root is now second in the list with 29 centuries to his name. While he has hit 12 centuries during this report, Smith has managed 4, Williamson has scored 1 while Kohli has not scored a Test century since 2019.
Fab 4 Test centuries at 2021 start:
1. Virat Kohli – 27.
2. Steven Smith – 26.
3. Kane Williamson – 24.
4. Joe Root – 17.Fab 4 Test centuries now:
1. Smith – 30.
2. Joe Root – 29*.
2. Kohli – 27.
4. Williamson – 25.— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) February 24, 2023