Joe Root at the non-strikers end. (Screengrab)Former skipper Joe Root gave his successor Ben Stokes the perfect start to his captaincy at Lord’s, helping England to victory with a century in the first test against New Zealand on Sunday.
Root, who stepped down as England Test captain in April, scored a gritty century and remained unbeaten on 115 to set up a five-wicket victory for his side.
In a decisive partnership with Ben Foakes, who scored 32 in an unbroken stand of 120, Root shepherded the hosts to a chase of 277 with his first fourth-innings hundred.
By doing so Root also became the 14 batter and just the second Englishman to reach 10,000 career Test runs — following former England captain, Alastair Cook.
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However, before reaching the three-figure mark when Root was playing on 87, when a bizarre incident caught the camera’s attention.
I knew @root66 was talented but not as magic as this……. What is this sorcery? @SkyCricket #ENGvNZ 🏏 pic.twitter.com/yXdhlb1VcF
— Ben Joseph (@Ben_Howitt) June 5, 2022
This is what they say… Bat has good balance ;)
I too did it once. pic.twitter.com/2TF29mpExr
— Charlie Joe (@CharlieJoe4) June 6, 2022
His bat is unusually square & flat at the bottom
— andrew walker (@wackerlegend) June 5, 2022
Root moved into the 90s by drilling Jamieson down the ground and then had a slice of luck when an under edge evaded both his stumps and Tom Blundell’s dive on its way to the ropes.
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