Root, who had been 73 not out overnight, was facing the first ball of Will O'Rourke's fourth over of the third morning of the second Test between England and New Zealand. As O'Rourke ran in to bowl, Gower - who is on host broadcaster's commentary panel for the series- could be heard in the background saying, "he's going to ramp it, I expect". A response could be heard as O'Rourke entered his delivery stride saying - "let's see if he does it".

When O'Rourke delivered the ball seconds later, Root sprang into position for his reverse ramp, facing the ball front-on and crouching low with his bat out in front of him. He didn't execute the shot perfectly, and almost got into trouble, ending up sprawled on the floor and the ball deflecting off his gloves and over Tom Blundell's head to the boundary. Nevertheless, the shot was enough to give Root a century, his sixth of 2024 and sixth against New Zealand.

Coming closer to the microphone as Root celebrated, Gower said: "I wish I said it out loud [on mic], I muttered to Macca [Craig McMillan] as the slip came in and third became an option that he'll just ramp it over slip, and low and behold. So much of this innings has been classical Joe Root, orthodox and brilliant, and this is cocking a snook at everyone here in New Zealand."

JOE ROOT IN STYLE 😮‍💨

What a way to bring up his century 💯

📺 Watch #NZvENG on TNT Sports and discovery+ pic.twitter.com/UOJVGBMfUi

— Cricket on TNT Sports (@cricketontnt) December 7, 2024

Root has previously come under criticism for using the reverse-ramp shot at precarious situations in the game. When England toured New Zealand in 2023, England were 154-3 on day one of the first Test and, having just lost Ollie Pope in the previous over, Root got an under-edge on a ball from Neil Wagner attempting the reverse ramp and the ball went straight to slip. In India earlier this year, he was against criticised when he fell to a similar dismissal in the first six overs of day three at Rajkot.

There was little danger for England in Wellington this time, however, and when Root was out three balls after reaching his hundred, England's lead was 583. New Zealand then suffered a top-order collapse when they came out to bat, and went into lunch on 59-4.

Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.