Joe Root: What's behind the England captain's lbw struggles after twice more falling foul at Lord's

Does Joe Root have an lbw problem?

That was the debate during the rain-interrupted third day's play at Lord's, with the England captain twice succumbing leg before wicket during the second Test against Pakistan - taking his total to seven such dismissals this summer, and nine in his last 12 Test innings.

"It's fascinating that even a guy of more than 160 Tests, who averages over 50 - one of the greatest players England have ever produced - teams will still be looking at that developing trend," Sky Sports Cricket's Michael Atherton said.

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"It also reflects how the game is changing. When we started playing, many more bowlers were looking to take the ball away and challenge your outside edge.

"You were taught that Test cricket was played around off stump, or in the channel, and that the best bowlers get the ball to move away, with your danger area the slip cordon.

"What we've seen in recent times in England is bowlers moving to the wobble seam delivery much more, looking to nip the ball back.

"The number of lbws and bowled dismissals this summer is high, and that's how teams will be looking to have a crack at Root. They'll be trying to exploit that slight area of weakness.

"There's also the added context of the wicketkeeper coming up to the stumps to the slower, medium pace bowlers like Matt Henry and Mohammad Abbas - and that is what is keeping Root more in the crease.

"You have more chance of getting that lbw when the keeper is up."

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Root's second-innings dismissal to Mohammad Ali came after the Pakistan pacer got one to nip and bounce away from the right-hander, beating the outside edge, the ball before.

Sky Sports Cricket's Nasser Hussain believes it's a contributing factor to Root's lbw struggles, with bowlers managing to set him up with the one that shapes away.

"The moment you see the ball moving away from you, you naturally go to cover the outside edge - Root will go across with that front pad," Hussain said.

"Because the ball is doing so much this summer, any batter will go slightly across with that front leg, as they are worried about the outside edge to the one moving away.

"But as Athers is talking about, the wobble seam then comes into it and nips back - you get four-and-a-quarter inches to cover a ball that's moving away and back in!

"It reminds me a little bit of Terry Alderman, who used to set Graham Gooch up like that: outswing, outswing, outswing, nip back. Goochy had to change his whole technique from back and across, to just back.

"If you watch Root at his best, he is a straight-line sort of batter, back and forward, he stays beside the ball.

"But because the ball is moving so much, he's trying to get across to it and that leaves him vulnerable to the lbw.

"Some of it is due to low bounce as well, especially on this ground [Lord's] - it brings the stumps and lbw into play.

"Bowlers are just holding a length, because they know they will find the stumps.

"And you have to also give the bowlers some credit. The skill we've seen from England, New Zealand, Pakistan this summer to bowl outswing and then wobble seam to bring in the lbw."

And that is Root's dilemma, Atherton added: "Nasser is right, because if Root said to himself, 'I'm going to take the lbw out of the equation and open up a bit', you then become more vulnerable to the outside edge.

"It's what makes this a fascinating game."

Watch day four of England's second Test match against Pakistan at Lord's live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10.15am on Sunday. Not got Sky? Latest Sky Sports deals or stream no contract