No tons in four years: Is Joe Root’s ODI form a cause for concern?

Coming in during the powerplay for the third innings in a row, he scratched his way up into double figures for the first time in the series. Twice he was dropped by New Zealand’s fielders, his most significant contribution being the injury the ball inflicted on Tim Southee after flying off Root’s outside edge.

It took him seven balls to get off the mark and, by the time Southee put down the second chance he gave, Root was on 9 off 23 balls. As he continued to move sluggishly through his gears, Ravindra’s slow left armers allowed him to attack. A four and a six were more positive signs, but he was out having added only three more runs to his score.

The dismissal itself was also concerning. A huge slog sweep, nowhere near the ball which pinned back his off stump. For a shot that is usually such a profitable one for Root, its poor execution was indicative of just how far from his best he currently is.

That innings was also his best of the series, or at least the one that yielded the most runs. In his three previous innings, he scored six, zero and four, contributing to top-order collapses. The result is that his ODI average is now less than 50 – unfamiliar territory for the look up and he’s on fifty off as many balls brigade – and his last century in the format came during the 2019 World Cup.

A rare quiet series with the bat for Joe Root.#ENGvNZ pic.twitter.com/Gik2KYZx1R

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) September 15, 2023

England have, for the most part, backed their batters from 2019 to see them through this World Cup as well, with Jonny Bairstow, Root and Ben Stokes set to form their Nos.2-4. All of them have been unavailable for large chunks of England’s ODI series’ since then, or at least had significant time away from the format. Root is no different. Before last week, he had played 15 ODIs over the last four years. His commitments as Test captain pulled him away in the intervening time between World Cups, and the limited runs he scored in the ODIs he did play can perhaps be linked to the demands of that job.

However, Root is such an integral part of a successful England ODI side that they cannot afford for his run drought to continue too far into the World Cup. While Bairstow is free to attack at the top of the order, with Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone there for the same at the end of the innings, Root has to be the anchor. It’s a job he does as well as anyone else in the world. Few can score runs at the pace he scores them with such a low level of risk. There are also few whose presence at the crease brings so much calm but also so much threat to an opposition.

When he doesn’t do that, just as he didn’t in the most recent series, it forces those below him to adapt to that role, bringing far more jeopardy to the innings or run chase. Indeed, his failures against New Zealand played a part in making Dawid Malan’s consistency a more attractive option than Jason Roy’s attacking volatility.

Similarly, it was a defining feature of the 2019 World Cup final that Root played what he admitted was the worst professional innings of his career. Out for seven off 30 balls, without him to guide England through the relatively low run chase they very nearly fell short. Before that, Root had scored a century in a tricky chase against Pakistan, finished not out in the semi-final against Australia and was their leading run scorer in the tournament. He is the most crucial batter in England’s line-up and will be just as key to their success.

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There is reason for some distant alarm bells to start ringing. In his 16 ODI innings since the beginning of 2020, Root’s average is 27.85. He’s been dismissed for a duck four times, three of those since July last year. Root’s poor form against New Zealand is a continuation of a pattern in his recent ODI career rather than a recent drop off.

But, in terms of whether those concerns should cross into worry over Root’s World Cup potential, the answer is largely no. It’s hard to imagine a player of Root’s experience and talent will look out of sorts for an entire six-week tournament. The length of the tournament means there’s room for growth as it progresses, and sporadic ODI appearances over the last few years as well as four innings back after over a year’s break from the format aren’t enough on which to base judgment for how the picture will look in two months’ time, with so much cricket to play. That he’s been added to the squad for the first ODI against Ireland this week shows he himself knows his form isn’t where he wants it to be, but he is experienced enough to know what he needs to do to regain it. There are parallels to England’s Test tour of New Zealand earlier this year, when Root found himself in a rare run of seven Tests without a significant contribution. “I’ve not performed for a little while,” he admitted as he discussed his form mid-series, and then rattled off an unbeaten 153 in his next innings.

There’s very little chance of England turning to another option at No.3. No one does that job better than he does, and very few in history have done it as well. But, until Root does score some runs, the anticipation and impatience will be there every time he comes to the crease. For England’s sake, the sooner he does the more chance they have of defending their World Cup title.