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Joe Root had always been encouraged to do better by
Steve Oldham. The Sheffield child’s magical qualities were not immediately
apparent to the former Yorkshire academy coach. However, he was undoubtedly
among the first to present him with obstacles to overcome, including placing
him on teams two years older than his age group, having the older kids bowl at
him, or testing him on what would happen next when he sat down during a game.
However, Oldham gave Root some candid employment
counsel at the end of his adolescent years.
“This won’t get you anywhere,” he said
dismissively of Root’s bowling, which at the time was bit-part medium pace –
“sweat-band swingers”, as Root puts it, though Oldham probably used
less flattering terms.
Oldham was never one to look behind him, and in the
real world this extra thread would not do. His recommendation? Try offspin for
yourself.
History is what’s left. And, well, this trip of India
is not only continuing, it’s about to take a whole new turn.
“Rooty knows he’s going to bowl a lot more than
on previous tours,” said England spin-bowling coach Jeetan Patel in an
interview with the Guardian last week. A greater input in bowling meetings,
maybe even an invitation to a bowlers-only WhatsApp group that tends to get
formed on these long tours, awaits. And a whole lot of twirling.
Ben Stokes, whose own gammy left knee has prevented
him from bowling, has relied on Root’s spin as a crutch. For the next eight
weeks, Root will be England’s only all-round player even though the skipper has
finally had surgery.
Root’s offies have a certain carefree quality to them;
they frequently mix in the odd leggie or seam-up delivery and are rarely
concerned about economy rates. Its somewhat chaotic aspect is reflected in his
own description of his craft.
In the last Test of that tour, Root earned his first
of 135 caps. After a blistering 73, followed by a ball-to-the-corner 20 off 56
deliveries, England managed to secure the tie and a historic 2-1 result. Before
midday on the third day, a solitary over was housed in Nagpur for a turbulent
five days. Nobody could have imagined back then that Root would make a comeback
with so much riding on his bowling over a decade later. or, for that matter,
the previous month.
Just that Root will be expected to do much more now,
on the hardest touring assignment.