Richard Mann previews Wednesday's action from The Hundred, when Trent Rockets host London Spirit at Trent Bridge.
The Hundred and JOE ROOT might not immediately feel like a natural fit, but I’d argue that is a lazy assumption to make, and England’s star batsman looks a fair bet when Trent Rockets host London Spirit on Wednesday evening.
For all Root has now fallen out of favour with England in terms of T20I cricket, the Yorkshireman still averages 35.72 in that format, while his record in ODIs is outstanding – having amassed 6522 runs in that format at 47.60, with 16 hundreds.
By any metric, Root is a high-class white-ball batter.
The caveat to that, regarding this 100-ball competition at least, is that Root patently doesn’t possess the raw power of some across the eight squads, or even in his Rockets team. While power is increasingly becoming the dominant attribute needed for short-form batsmanship, the very best technical players, like say a Virat Kohli, continue to find a way.
Root's more traditional approach certainly doesn’t mean he can't, or won’t, be successful in the very shortest formats, and it’s worth noting that in this tournament last year, Root had a strike-rate of 154.34 in six matches.
With the Rockets batting struggling to chase down modest totals the last twice, and the likes of Hales and Banton flattering to deceive, I’m keen to have a bet in their top batsman market.
Following a stellar time in the recent Test series against West Indies, Root has continued to look in fine touch since joining up with the Rockets, posting scores of 33 and 17 and looking much the best of the home batting line-up.
He struck the ball beautifully last time out before being run out through no fault of his own.
The other significant factor to consider tonight is the pitch at Trent Bridge which has offered plenty of assistance to the spinners and, in truth, isn’t helping power hitters like Hales and Banton.
As such, I think you want a touch player here who can construct an innings if we see yet another low-scoring match – a feature of the competition so far. Root certainly fits the bill.
This is the best player of spin England has produced since the late Graham Thorpe, and what a way for Root to celebrate the memory of a man who coached Root for so much of his career than to put on a show in front of the Sky Sports cameras.
Posted at 1035 BST on 07/08/24
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