Joe Root facing 'defining series' as England captain, says Mark Ramprakash
Friday 27 December 2019 20:23, UK
Former England batting coach Mark Ramprakash says it could be a "defining series" for captain Joe Root after his side collapsed to 181 all out on day two against South Africa.
Joining Charles Colvile and Rob Key for The Debate, Ramprakash praised the South African bowlers for their impressive performance in helpful bowling conditions but added that England had 'enough in the tank' to get a better first innings score.
Root scored 29, putting on 55 for the third wicket with Joe Denly (50), who also added 72 with Ben Stokes (35) before England lost their last seven wickets for just 39 runs.
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"The conditions were seriously tough, and credit to South Africa, they came out and used the new ball brilliantly," said Ramprakash. "They were on fire. It was a really tough examination for the England players.
"But also, England's top six are hugely reliant on the experience of Root and Stokes. The others are still feeling their way in international cricket.
"We saw some extravagant uneven bounce, particularly with the new ball. That's not what England expected - they thought this pitch would flatten out and day two would be the best for batting. It turned out very different.
"I still think that England's batting line-up has enough in the tank to get more than what they got today. At 60-2 at lunch, they had, to a degree, weathered the storm and they knew the first half-hour after the break would be really crucial - Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada starting things off again.
"I think the captain's dismissal, you have to look at that because it came fairly early after the break. He'd got through that really tough period early on in his innings, but it's a skill to be able to concentrate and switch back on. He looked like he came back out and was wanting to dominate."
Elaborating further on Root's dismissal, Ramprakash described him as looking "frazzled" during his innings, with the pressure of captaincy perhaps a contributing factor. Root averages 42.45 with the bat as skipper, compared to 52.80 as a pure batsman.
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"For someone as good as Joe Root to get hit on the helmet and look so frazzled against the pace of someone like Rabada is unusual," added Ramprakash.
"And he came down the wicket to Philander and played an indeterminate shot really. It was a soft dismissal - one that he will be particularly disappointed with.
"I've got no problem with Joe coming down the wicket, I think it's a really legitimate way of pushing Philander's length back - we know he likes to attack the top of off-stump - but, with Joe, the ball was thrown wider and that's where he made a mistake, because he still wanted to manufacture a scoring opportunity. He has been out like this before.
"Root, having weathered the early storm, will have discussed Philander - after he bowled maidens in his first five overs - and how are we going to disrupt him having that control? I think he thought after lunch, 'right, I'm going to be busy here'. He bats very well in that mindset but, people will be wondering at home, why don't you have a consistent mindset?
"In New Zealand, where he got a double hundred, the pitches were flat and you could back your defence and just wait. On this pitch, there's a ball with your name on it and so you might have to be a bit more proactive in the way you bat.
"As a coach or a manager, you want people playing to their strengths or their natural way of playing, of course. That's not to say they can't adapt and learn.
"Root was under a lot of pressure in New Zealand; he got that double hundred and he was noticeably different in demeanour - he felt he could relax, as there was a lot of speculation about his captaincy and the fact his batting average has dropped so dramatically as captain.
"I just wonder whether he's batting out there, seeing the ball flying around, worrying about having made that decision to put South Africa in to bat yesterday, and then in his own game he looked a little frazzled.
"He did play some nice shots, and it was very, very tough - we shouldn't underestimate that - but I wonder if this series is going to be defining over his captaincy. Because England need the batsmen."
Also discussed by Ramprakash and fellow guest, Rob Key, on The Debate:
- Another fifty but another not converted for Joe Denly
- Jonny Bairstow bowled, and what is his best role in the side?
- Vernon Philander's brilliance, taking 4-16
- Dom Sibley's bizarre dismissal referred to the third umpire
- What can England chase in the fourth innings?
Watch day three of the first Test between South Africa and England, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 7.30am on Saturday.
