Joe Root’s absence from the T20 side has long been seen as a necessary sacrifice, a decision made to preserve his brilliance in Test cricket whilst allowing more suited players to dominate the shortest format. But as England were dismantled 4-1 in India while Root lit up the SA20, is this logic now looking flawed?
It’s almost six years since Joe Root last played a T20 match for England, against Pakistan at Headingley in 2019. With Root as Test captain at the time, the England selectors decided to prioritise his use in the longer format. It seemed unwise to overwork England’s standout Test batter in the formats that he wasn’t suited for, especially considering England’s abundance of shorter-format talent.
However, the opportunity to pick Root again presented itself in 2022 after he gave up the Test captaincy following England’s poor showing in the West Indies, which succeeded their 4-0 thrashing in the Ashes. But by this time, it was believed that T20 cricket had moved past Root’s subtler game in favour of bigger-hitting players. The likes of Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow and now Phil Salt and Liam Livingstone were all deemed to have a greater impact on the format.
During the recent SA20, Root echoed the narrative that has likely been keeping him out of the side in an interview with ESPN Cricinfo. “The T20 format has evolved a lot, but you’re playing the game of cricket, and it’s about problem-solving, just on a much quicker scale than what I’ve been doing the majority of the time.” Root is right, the game has changed, but he is wrong if he believes he is not equipped to be effective.
Since 2020, the Yorkshireman has entered the peak of his Test cricket career. His average and strike rate have increased, enhanced by new shots, such as the reverse-ramp, which will suit T20 cricket.
Any concerns over fast scoring should have been put to bed in the SA20. Root averaged a strike rate of 140.20, higher than South African big-hitters Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller. He coupled this with an average of 55.20, although this was slightly skewed by three not-outs, it still led to him finishing as the tournament’s eighth-highest run scorer.
As England were thrashed in the country where Root was the third-highest run scorer at the 2016 T20 World Cup, the selectors surely must have been watching the proceedings in South Africa and realising they had made a mistake, leaving their best player of spin out of the team as England lost a total of 29 wickets to turning balls over the five-match series.
England’s batting was poor throughout, losing 48 out of a possible 50 wickets, as Jos Buttler was the only player to average above 20.
“I want to play as much for England as I can … in all formats,” Root told Mark Butcher on Sky Sports in a recent interview. If this is the case, England must be careful not to overuse one of their greatest players, but they certainly can use him more shrewdly.
England did recall him for the ODI series later in the tour, but they would have been better reintegrating him back into the T20 side. Since Dawid Malan’s retirement, Root now holds the highest T20 average for an active England batsman.
The next ODI World Cup will not be held until 2027, while the next T20 World Cup will be held in India and Sri Lanka in 2026, in conditions where Root has historically thrived. If he presents himself for selection, England must prioritise reintegrating Root into the T20 side, especially now that he is proving he can adapt to the modern game.