Can Joe Root become England’s greatest 21st century batsman?

Day one of Ashes 2015, saw Joe Root playing one of the finest counter-attacking innings seen in Test cricket recently. He cut, pulled, drove and hooked with ease, and even made Mitchell Johnson, who had appeared almost ogre-like during the last Ashes encounter, look like a net bowler. True, he was given a life early on (and Root is the first to acknowledge that he was lucky to get the century), but the best in the world have been given lives, which proved costly to the opposition. On Wednesday, Brad Haddin’s dropped catch proved costly for the Australians.

What makes Joe Root special? Firstly, he has the chance of becoming a great English batsman, something that we haven't seen in a long time. The last true great English batsman was probably David Gower. People may argue Kevin Pietersen’s case, but the fact is that KP is South African. In the past, batsmen like Michael Atherton, Andrew Strauss, Jonathan Trott, Nasser Hussain, Graeme Thorpe, Marcus Trescothick, and more recently Ian Bell and Alistair Cook have been good players for England, but have not achieved that ‘great’ tag.

Root on the other hand, stands out for several reasons. He is adept in all three forms of the game – averaging over 50 in Tests and over 40 in ODIs and T20s. He can play the waiting game like he did when he made his Test debut against India in Nagpur, as well as counter-attack like he did on Wednesday. He is aggressive, but not arrogant. He is fearless, consistent and quiet – all hallmarks of someone who is destined to be a big name in the sport.

That the media and cricketing pundits have already hailed him as the future of English cricket, and the next captain, hasn’t hampered his game. While he has shown a lot of maturity in improving his game, it is too early to determine whether he is mature enough to lead an England team whose board has been criticised for its rigidity and the way it treats its players and support staff. Whether or not that may hamper Root’s game if he takes up the responsibility of leading England can only be determined with time.

Until then, Root is a player who needs to be feared by his opponents. Once he makes a century, he is hungrier. He has remained unbeaten in four of his seven Test centuries. Four of the seven Test centuries have crossed 150, with his highest score being an unbeaten 200 against Sri Lanka at Lords. He has a strike rate of over 80 in ODIs and 131 in T20s, which shows that he can adapt to all three formats of the game. In addition, he can bowl handy offbreaks, which adds his value to the team.

The Australians dropped him early in the first innings of the first Test, resulting in a great century. They can’t repeat this mistake because Root could be the barrier that prevents Australia from retaining the urn.