Stuart Broad praises Joe Root as a complete batsman

Apr 6, 2019 at 2:16 PM

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Stuart Broad praises Joe Root as a complete batsman

England’s fast bowler Stuart Broad believes team-mate Joe Root as the “most complete batsman” he has seen in his playing time. Root has been in phenomenal form as he scored 254 runs against Pakistan at Old Trafford which helped them clinch the test with a mammoth 330-run win.

“I think Joe’s probably the all-round, complete player,” said Broad.

“I think in 10 years’ time there’s no doubt we’ll be sat with a glass of red saying, ‘Wow, I’m lucky to have played with that Root fella – look at his record in all formats’,” added Broad.

“If I had to pick two batsmen to bat for my life, I’d pick Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott, but I think Joe is probably a complete batsman I’ve ever played with.

“He has fewer weaknesses – he’s a fantastic player of spin, a good player of the short ball, a good player of quick bowling. He is a brilliant team-man in the way he plays and he’s got every tempo and every shot in the book.”

Broad added: “He’s a very rounded guy and I know he’ll be desperately hungry to get another big score next week.

“For him to rein in his shots slightly and just say, ‘I’m going to bat big’, was a great example of how to put the team first.

“He knew that first-innings runs were going to be vital at Old Trafford and he did it in a no-risk way. I think that was one of the best knocks I’ve seen for England.”

England will now face Pakistan in the third test at Edgbaston and Stuart Broad feels that crowd helps England elevate their game. England have lost only once in the last 15 years at Edgbaston and Broad calls it England’s Gabba.

“For us, Edgbaston feels very pro-England. You can’t say that about every ground but here it feels like the whole ground wants England to do well, wants you to take wickets,” he said.

“Those sort of atmospheres give teams a huge lift. You only have to look at Australia in Brisbane, there’s a reason they play the first Test there every summer: because the crowd gives them such a lift they don’t lose there.

“Edgbaston feels like our Gabba, so to speak, in the way the crowd roar behind us and I think some of our results reflect that. Probably the most memorable for me was Steven Finn’s spell last year – [dismissing] Michael Clarke and Adam Voges, Mitch Marsh – I remember standing at mid-off as he ran in thinking, ‘Wow, the ground is almost shaking here.’”

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