Following the end of day three play of the third Test against India, England opener Ben Duckett defended star batter Joe Root’s dismissal while playing a reverse scoop, asking why the critics did not question his shot selection when the veteran right-hander was scoring heaps of runs last summer. In England’s batting collapse on day three after a commanding performance on day two with Duckett’s 153 being a standout, Root gave an easy catch to Yashasvi Jaiswal at slips while attempting to reverse scoop a Jasprit Bumrah delivery.
Following the match, speaking to TNT Sports as quoted by ESPNCricinfo, Duckett said that Root is a “freak” and does things other players cannot. He defended the dismissal saying that it “is the same as playing a drive and nicking off.”
“Rooty is a freak and does things a lot of us cannot do. In my eyes that dismissal is the same as playing a drive and nicking off. He plays the reverse scoop so well and I am sure a lot of people were not [criticising it] when it worked in the summer,” said Duckett.
Later speaking to BBC, Duckett said that he was gutted that Root’s shot did not go for a four or six.
“I am just gutted it didn’t go for four or six. I think he has earned the right to do that. He has played that shot so well. I think it is exactly the same as me playing a reverse sweep and getting caught deep point,” said the batter.
Cricketers and pundits said the former England captain — who has clocked over 11,000 runs in 138 Tests — had misfired by trying to fit into England’s attacking “Bazball” brand of cricket.
“Joe Root’s latest Bazball shot is the stupidest in English Test cricket history,” read a headline for a scathing article by Telegraph cricket writer Scyld Berry.
Root continued his subpar run in Asia with yet another disappointing instance of shot selection during the third Test against India at Rajkot.
This tour continues to be a disappointing affair for England’s premier batter, who has managed just 29, 2, 5, 16, 18 and 7 in six innings so far.
Since his double century, a knock of 218 in the first Chennai Test during the last tour to India back in February 2021, Root has had an abysmal record in Asian conditions.
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