From Newsgroup: uk.sport.cricket






Root hasn't yet earned that one of the Goat's tag YET - Argues Columnist Sriram Veera.


Greatness exacts a demanding standard. Greatness requires something more
than ephemeral. Root isnrCOt a lamb, but not a GOAT either.




========================================================================


https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/why-joe-root-troubles-cummins-hazlewood-bumrah-test-great-10457042/

Why Joe RootrCOs troubles against Cummins, Hazlewood and Bumrah prevent
him from becoming an all-time Test great

How else can one determine greatness if not performances against the
very best? Else, so many really good batsmen can waltz into that
exclusive club. Root hasn't earned that one of the GOATs tag yet.


Joe Root now needs less than 2000 Test runs to overhaul Sachin
TendulkarrCOs 15921 runs to become the most prolific run getter in world.
He is 35, pretty fit, and since England play a lot of Tests, he is most
likely to outrun Tendulkar. He is EnglandrCOs greatest batsman and one of
the modern-dayrCOs best, but can he be labelled one of the all-time-greats
of the game?

It feels churlish to raise this point at this juncture, especially when
he has scored a fine 160 in the fifth Ashes Test even as his younger combustible team-mates seemed fatally attracted to self-destruction, but greatness exacts a demanding standard.

Against two of the best fast bowlers of his era, Jasprit Bumrah and Pat Cummins, Root has been poor. Cummins has seen him off 13 times for an
average of 22.6, Bumrah 11 times for 30.3. Josh Hazlewood too has taken
him out 10 times for not much.

Incidentally, both his hundreds in the current Ashes series came when
both Cummins and Hazlewood were absent. And he had never scored a Test
ton in Australia before this series. He is certainly one of the best
among his contemporaries but greatness requires something more than
ephemeral.

ItrCOs not these dismissals to Cummins in this series or ones against Hazlewood and Bumrah in the past that keeps the fastidious bouncers of
that greatness club to stop him at the gate, but the pattern to his
struggles that raise the question. ItrCOs his inadequacy in coming up with
the solutions to the same pattern of probing that raises that query.

Cummins has repeatedly targeted him around the off stump, and harassed
him by getting the ball to straighten to take out either the off stump
or brush the outside edge. As variation, he has cut a few in to trap him
lbw. Ditto Hazlewood.

Is it a shame if the top three bowlers of the era dismiss in similar
fashion through the career? Definitely not, when the final run tally
with runs accrued against other quality pacers from around the world has brought him towards the summit. But the greatness tag certainly comes
under the hammer. How else can one then determine greatness if not performances against the very best? Else, so many really good batsmen
can waltz into that exclusive club.

You take out the sense of balance from a batsman, you take him out. Over
the years, Cummins, Bumrah and Hazlewood have done exactly that to Root.

One can suss out that Cummins makes Root, the batsman who uses the
crease generally really well, feel claustrophobic at the crease. ItrCOs as
if one by one all escape routes are shut. And he is cornered into a
small tight space. Stuck inside the crease, the feet going nowhere, it
all gets a bit much.

He has had the problem of head falling over and Cummins exploits it with
the nip-backers. When Root begins to move closer to the off-stump guard
to try bat straighter and be stiller with the head, Cummins begins to
harass him with straighteners and away-shapers in combination with the nip-backers. It would appear with that stance there is no real gap for
the ball to ping the off stump but Cummins has repeatedly done it. Most memorably, in the pink ball Test in Adelaide last time Root landed up
Down Under, when he curved the ball away past the prod to knock out the
off stump. In this series, he was caught in similar tight spot, and
edged Cummins behind.

But the space he gets into against Cummins is noteworthy: cramped,
retreating inside, nowhere to go, living on a prayer. Not the
walking-down Root, not the stretching-forward Root, not the press-back
to punch Root. Cummins has had that effect.

ItrCOs what Bumrah has also done to him in the past. With that combo of nip-backers and away-shapers. BumrahrCOs natural extended-arm release and
the inherent illusion it creates as if the ball is tailing in has proven
a fatal attraction for Root. His arms betray him and then he jabs and stabs.

Virat Kohli has had troubles against James Anderson but he recovered
from the depths of 2014 series. The greatness gate also closed on him
near the end of his career with his repeated failures outside off stump
and also, an increasing vulnerability against quality spin in helpful conditions. Kane Williamson too has tapered off every now and then, and
his record in Australia isnrCOt great.

Only Steve Smith, who along with these three formed the fab four of this generation, can confidently strut towards the greatness world.


RootrCOs troubles against three best bowlers of his time has been a
continuing affair and especially the mode of dismissals where he begins
to look like an imposter is at another level. And worrying. The gates of
the greatness club are half-shut as of now. Root isnrCOt a lamb, but not a GOAT either.


--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.sport.cricket

On 06/01/2026 07:53, FBInCIAnNSATerroristSlayer wrote:

Root hasn't yet earned that one of the Goat's tag YET - Argues Columnist Sriram Veera.

Greatness exacts a demanding standard. Greatness requires something more than ephemeral. Root isnrCOt a lamb, but not a GOAT either.

========================================================================

https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/why-joe-root-troubles- cummins-hazlewood-bumrah-test-great-10457042/

Why Joe RootrCOs troubles against Cummins, Hazlewood and Bumrah prevent
him from becoming an all-time Test great

How else can one determine greatness if not performances against the
very best? Else, so many really good batsmen can waltz into that
exclusive club. Root hasn't earned that one of the GOATs tag yet.

Joe Root now needs less than 2000 Test runs to overhaul Sachin
TendulkarrCOs 15921 runs to become the most prolific run getter in world.
He is 35, pretty fit, and since England play a lot of Tests, he is most likely to outrun Tendulkar. He is EnglandrCOs greatest batsman and one of the modern-dayrCOs best, but can he be labelled one of the all-time-greats of the game?

It feels churlish to raise this point at this juncture, especially when
he has scored a fine 160 in the fifth Ashes Test even as his younger combustible team-mates seemed fatally attracted to self-destruction, but greatness exacts a demanding standard.

Against two of the best fast bowlers of his era, Jasprit Bumrah and Pat Cummins, Root has been poor. Cummins has seen him off 13 times for an average of 22.6, Bumrah 11 times for 30.3.

30.3 is 53% higher than Bumrah's overall Test average of 19.79. That
sounds pretty good to me. Figures for other batsmen against Bumrah (and Cummins) would be useful for comparison.

Josh Hazlewood too has taken
him out 10 times for not much.

Not much? Why doesn't Veera tell us how much is not much? Is it possibly because it's more than he is implying?

Incidentally, both his hundreds in the current Ashes series came when
both Cummins and Hazlewood were absent. And he had never scored a Test
ton in Australia before this series. He is certainly one of the best
among his contemporaries but greatness requires something more than ephemeral.

ItrCOs not these dismissals to Cummins in this series or ones against Hazlewood and Bumrah in the past that keeps the fastidious bouncers of
that greatness club to stop him at the gate, but the pattern to his struggles that raise the question. ItrCOs his inadequacy in coming up with the solutions to the same pattern of probing that raises that query.

Cummins has repeatedly targeted him around the off stump, and harassed
him by getting the ball to straighten to take out either the off stump
or brush the outside edge. As variation, he has cut a few in to trap him lbw. Ditto Hazlewood.

Is it a shame if the top three bowlers of the era dismiss in similar
fashion through the career?

So Veera has gone from "TWO OF the best FAST bowlers of his era" and "Hazlewood too" earlier in the article to "THE top THREE BOWLERS
[without the "fast" qualification] of the era" now. Sneaky.

Of bowlers with 100 Test wickets since Root's debut by average, Bumrah
is top and Cummins 4th (behind Steyn and Rabada), but Hazlewood is only
10th, or 8th (behind Mohammad Abbas, Johnson and Philander) if we
exclude Ashwin as a spinner and Anderson as an England bowler. While
Cummins was ranked #1 continuously for 28 consecutive Tests from Aug
2019 to Feb 2023, and Bumrah has been #1 for 16 of his 19 Tests since
Feb 2024, Hazlewood has never been #1; he has been #2 twice - Feb 2017
and Mar 2024 - but only for one Test each time.

Definitely not, when the final run tally
with runs accrued against other quality pacers from around the world has brought him towards the summit. But the greatness tag certainly comes
under the hammer. How else can one then determine greatness if not performances against the very best? Else, so many really good batsmen
can waltz into that exclusive club.

You take out the sense of balance from a batsman, you take him out. Over
the years, Cummins, Bumrah and Hazlewood have done exactly that to Root.

One can suss out that Cummins makes Root, the batsman who uses the
crease generally really well, feel claustrophobic at the crease. ItrCOs as if one by one all escape routes are shut. And he is cornered into a
small tight space. Stuck inside the crease, the feet going nowhere, it
all gets a bit much.

He has had the problem of head falling over and Cummins exploits it with
the nip-backers. When Root begins to move closer to the off-stump guard
to try bat straighter and be stiller with the head, Cummins begins to
harass him with straighteners and away-shapers in combination with the nip-backers. It would appear with that stance there is no real gap for
the ball to ping the off stump but Cummins has repeatedly done it. Most memorably, in the pink ball Test in Adelaide last time Root landed up
Down Under, when he curved the ball away past the prod to knock out the
off stump. In this series, he was caught in similar tight spot, and
edged Cummins behind.

But the space he gets into against Cummins is noteworthy: cramped, retreating inside, nowhere to go, living on a prayer. Not the walking-
down Root, not the stretching-forward Root, not the press-back to punch Root. Cummins has had that effect.

ItrCOs what Bumrah has also done to him in the past. With that combo of nip-backers and away-shapers. BumrahrCOs natural extended-arm release and the inherent illusion it creates as if the ball is tailing in has proven
a fatal attraction for Root. His arms betray him and then he jabs and
stabs.

Virat Kohli has had troubles against James Anderson but he recovered
from the depths of 2014 series. The greatness gate also closed on him
near the end of his career with his repeated failures outside off stump
and also, an increasing vulnerability against quality spin in helpful conditions. Kane Williamson too has tapered off every now and then, and
his record in Australia isnrCOt great.

Only Steve Smith, who along with these three formed the fab four of this generation, can confidently strut towards the greatness world.

Note that Veera does not produce any comparable stats to back this up. Obviously Smith has never faced Cummins or Hazlewood in Tests, and I
don't know what his average against Bumrah is, but his average in his 8
Tests involving Bumrah (all at home) is 38.28, whereas Root's is 62.03
in 17 Tests - 77.52 in 11 Tests at home, and 40.08 in 6 Tests in India.

RootrCOs troubles against three best bowlers of his time has been a continuing affair and especially the mode of dismissals where he begins
to look like an imposter is at another level. And worrying. The gates of
the greatness club are half-shut as of now. Root isnrCOt a lamb, but not a GOAT either.

--
David North
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2