England captain Joe Root talks to Sky Sports about Ruth Strauss Foundation putting cricket into perspective and the reasons for his sensational batting form in 2021; Root has scored over 1,200 runs in Test matches so far this year with five centuries and top-score of 228
Sunday 15 August 2021 16:02, UK
England captain Joe Root says the Ruth Strauss Foundation put cricket into perspective and was on his mind as he continued his stunning Test form in 2021 with a score of 180 not out against India.
The Lord's Test has turned #RedForRuth in order to raise awareness of and funds for research into non-smoking forms of lung cancer and support families dealing with the terminal illness of a parent.
Sir Andrew Strauss' wife, Ruth, passed away from a non-smoking lung cancer in 2018 at the age of 46, with the Foundation set up in her name.
Root went out to bat on the official #RedForRuth day on Friday, making 48 not out, before turning that into a 22nd Test hundred and fifth of the calendar year on Saturday.
Root, who has now scored 1,244 runs across 19 Test innings in 2021 at an average of 69, told Sky Sports' Michael Atherton on Sunday: "One thing in the front of my mind more than anything was #RedForRuth Day.
"You look at what Straussy and his family and what a number of other families in the country have been through and will go through.
"When you put that into perspective with what you are doing, it is a small challenge in front of you compared to what they have to deal with.
"Cricket is so far behind what they do and it's great the amount of money raised in this match so far. That was what I was feeling as I walked out."
Root's remarkable form this year has moved him second on England's list of all-time Test run-scorers, behind only Sir Alastair Cook, and seen him become the second-youngest man to 9,000 Test runs, again, behind only former team-mate Cook.
The 30-year-old opened up to Athers about the reason for his success, citing tweaks to his batting technique, wise words from South Africa legend Jacques Kallis, and an ambition to score…
Root said: "[Moving from going back and across my stumps to going back and remaining more beside the ball] was a deliberate change I made, against the New Zealand series earlier this summer and in the winter.
"I felt [going back and across] shored up my defence a little bit more, made me feel like I was behind the ball and able to play a little bit later, but I did struggle to score and put pressure back on the bowlers.
"However, if I hadn't have done that I would never have known what made this technique as good and as useful as it was. Going through that process gave me a bit more clarity on my game. It took me to go back to white-ball cricket, 50-over cricket , to really work that out in my own mind.
"I think it's important to look to improve and find ways of getting better but ultimately it's about finding that understanding in your own game which helps you to become consistent."
Root said: "What I've tried to do more than anything is play the ball as late and as close to me as possible. You look at some of the India players who have played really well throughout this series, they have left extremely well. I have not left a huge amount of balls, I have tried to score and get the bowlers to try and bowl somewhere else.
"Everyone will have their own ways of dealing with different types of bowling but when the ball is doing a little bit, if you are clever about where you score your runs, you can put pressure on bowlers and make them wonder, 'is this the right area to bowl or the best way to get him out?'"
Root said: "When we were out in Sri Lanka in the winter, Kallis [who was England's batting consultant at the time] said, 'the first hundred is for the taxman, the rest is where you actually earn your money.' As a tight Yorkshireman that really hit home with me!
"It's about making sure you keep earning your corn and make it count when you get in. I have been really pleased with how it has gone so far. There is still a lot of cricket to be played and I am very keen to carry that forward.
"I thoroughly enjoyed my hundred at Lord's. It is the first time my kids have been able to come and watch together so it was quite special in that respect. Alfie is now four so he will be able to remember this which is really quite special for me.
"I have been told by a few people to really enjoy and celebrate moments like that as they don't come around very often. I have tried to do that the last couple of times."
Watch continued coverage of the second Test between England and India live on Sky Sports The Hundred (Sky channel 404).
