‘Absolutely class for him to do that’ – Ben Stokes lauds Joe Root’s unconventional way of reaching 36th Test ton
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Star England batter Joe Root has been in exceptional form as of late; the 33-year-old recently scored his 36th Test ton. He achieved the feat in England’s recent clash against New Zealand. Both New Zealand and England faced off in the second Test at the Basin Reserve, Wellington, and the game saw England register a brilliant 323 runs.
In the second innings, Root scored 106 runs in 130 deliveries. However, it was how Root completed his ton, that left Ben Stokes in awe of his skills. It is worth noting that the 33-year-old played a scoop shot off William O’Rouke’s deliveries to complete his ton.
Talking about the same, Ben Stokes took centre stage and revealed that it was unbelievable to him that Root went on to play a scoop shot to complete his ton.
“I thought it was amazing. Latham had a man out there that whole morning, and then he bought it up, and Root thought it was a good idea to scoop a 6 foot 9 giant who’s bowling rockets, and it came off. It was awesome. Absolutely class for him to do that,” Stokes said during the post-match press conference.
He is desperate to do well for this team: Stokes
Furthermore, Stokes also heaped praise on Root for his willpower and ability to perform consistently for England in the longest format. He revealed that Root feels like he has let his team down when he does not score a ton, which is a testament to his ability.
“He is desperate to do well for this team. He knows how important he is. When he does we, we generally do well. When he does not score runs in a Test match, he feels like he’s let everyone down, because he’s that good. Actually, I did call it to a few people saying that he’ll score a 100 this game. He is an unbelievable player,” Stokes added.