Joe Root plays a reverse ramp against West Indies

England batter Joe Root pulled out his reverse ramp shot for the first time in Test cricket since his dismissal against Jasprit Bumrah in February, during his 122 against West Indies at Trent Bridge.

On the fourth day of the second Test between England and West Indies in Nottingham, England began on 248-3, leading by 207 runs with Harry Brook and Joe Root in the middle. The pair started brightly, adding another 81 runs in the morning session which also saw Brook score his first Test century on home soil. He was eventually dismissed for 109.

Read more: England's No.11 problems resurface with few solutions in sight

England lost two more wickets before lunch as captain Ben Stokes, and wicketkeeper Jamie Smith came and went for eight and six respectively. In the second session, Root continued to score fluently in the company of Chris Woakes, and in the 84th over of the innings reached his century with a classical drive through the covers off Alzarri Joseph.

Off the first ball of the very next over, Root pulled out a shot he had kept in storage for a while. As Shamar Joseph pitched it up outside off stump, Root switched his grip and reverse-ramped the ball over the slips for four.

The unorthodox shot was one Root had used extensively over the last couple of years, but had not played it for months. He was heavily criticised for losing his wicket while attempting to play it against Jasprit Bumrah in Rajkot this February. Root was finally dismissed here for 122, caught in the covers off Jason Holder's bowling.

Watch: Shamar Joseph smashes Trent Bridge roof with six during blazing cameo from No.11

Watch Joe Root reverse ramp Shamar Joseph for four here

Follow Wisden for all ENG vs WI series 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.

Related tags:

Series Cover Stories