Joe Root: England’s leading Test run-scorer reveals Covid changes that led to record-breaking run

Joe Root has revealed details of the changes he made to his approach to batting during the sport’s pause for Covid-19 that preceded his ongoing remarkable run of form.

Root surpassed Sir Alastair Cook as England’s all-time leading Test run-scorer during a stunning series-opening victory over Pakistan in Multan, which was completed on Friday.

The 33-year-old’s Test-best score of 262 was his 18th century in his last 50 matches, continuing a superb streak that began in January 2021, after he had managed just one ton in his 17 preceding appearances.

Amid a year-long century drought, Root was afforded additional time off to work on his game during the coronavirus pandemic, and credits the changes made during that period for his return to form.

“In Covid, I spent that period off really looking at my game, the areas where I felt there were little holes and weaknesses in it, and just really trying to have a really good understanding of my strengths and weaknesses,” Root told Sky Sports Cricket following his innings in Multan.

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“And then work with the strengths and try to tighten up the areas within my game that needed to just probably raise the level.

“Not all of that is technical, some of it was mental and maybe looking at the game slightly differently.

“Instead of always being about where’s my head, where’s my hands and my feet, are they lined up right? Am I playing the angles right, can I find a way of making him bowl in a different area?

“I suppose just that switch of mentality to, it doesn’t really matter sometimes if you’re in the wrong position as long as it’s effective and you’re finding ways of keeping the good ones out and applying pressure when the bowlers miss.”

‘There are periods when you’re struggling and it’s so hard’

Surpassing Cook saw Root become Test cricket’s fifth-highest run-scorer, leaving him behind only Sachin Tendulkar (15,921), Ricky Ponting (13,378), Jacques Kallis (13,289) and Rahul Dravid (13,288).

Root, now on 12,664 Test runs, seems almost certain to progress to second on the list, with the real question being whether he can sustain his form for long enough to chase down India great Tendulkar.

Explaining how he was able to keep his focus to amass his huge score in the sweltering Multan conditions, Root pointed to the pain of the leaner periods of his career.

“You just know what it’s like, this game,” he said. “There are periods where you’re really struggling and it’s so hard.

“Every little mistake, the nick carries, or there’s a brilliant catch, there’s that 50-50 call on an lbw, and all of a sudden it feels like five innings, and you’ve not scored a run, and you’re not in good nick.

“And you get days like this, where I was dropped at mid-wicket in the first half an hour, and you’ve got to really make the most of it to get us in a position to win the game.

“It’s that mentality, of I suppose Goochie (Graham Gooch), that you’ve never got enough. It’s something he always used to say to us when he was the batting coach.

“And when you’ve got that position of strength, in these conditions you know things can happen quickly late on in the game. But you’ve got to really work hard to earn the right to do that and have that chance of winning.”

Root reveals Cook’s congratulatory call

Having already eclipsed Cook’s record of 33 Test centuries for England this summer when scoring two hundreds against Sri Lanka at Lord’s, Root revealed he received a call from his former team-mate congratulating him after passing the run landmark on Wednesday.

“It was nice. He gave me a call and I had a good chat with him,” Root said.

“As you’d imagine, with Cookie, he was very gracious and complimentary.

“It’s pretty cool. We’ll see if we can keep going.”

Root denied a humorous allegation from team-mate Ben Duckett that he was counting down the 71 runs he needed to move past Cook during his innings, but admitted he was aware the milestone was approaching.

“I wasn’t counting them down, that’s a lie,” he added.

“But of course you know. You guys are telling me every other day!”

Asked if he had considered how many runs he needs to catch Tendulkar (3,257), Root responded: “I’ve no idea. It’s some way off yet.”

First Test: Multan – October 7-11 – England won by an innings and 47 runs

Second Test: Multan – October 15-19

Third Test: Rawalpindi – October 24-28

Every match from the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup is also live on Sky Sports from October 3-20 with Australia aiming for a third straight title and seventh overall, and England seeking to triumph for the first time since the inaugural edition in 2009.

Watch day one of the second Test between Pakistan and England in Multan, live on Sky Sports Cricket and Main Event from 5.30am on Tuesday, ahead of play starting from 6am. Stream with NOW

Fabio Wardley’s huge rematch with Frazer Clarke is on the epic Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol bill on Saturday October 12 live on Sky Sports Box Office. Book Wardley v Clarke 2 and Beterbiev v Bivol now!