England Cricket

Almost exactly two years ago New Zealand arrived at Headingley 1-0 down in a two Test match series against England. They had lost the opener at Lord’s after the home side produced some irresistible cricket to blow them away. 

Alastair Cook came out on top against Brendon McCullum. Joe Root led the run scoring, and Stuart Broad headed the bowling.

Kane Williamson prospered in the first innings but could not halt the slide toward defeat in the second. Trent Boult and Tim Southee swung the ball and claimed wickets, but it was not enough.

Fast-forward to the present day, and although the situation may sound similar, there have been many changes. Eleven of the 22 players remain the same—five for England, and six for New Zealand—but the intervening years have witnessed great fluctuations. 

England have been consistently rocked by instability. Personnel, leadership and management have been undone by varying degrees of farce, incompetence and poor on-field performances.  

By contrast, New Zealand have been on an increasingly positive upward curve in the past few years. They have leapfrogged England in the ICC Test rankings—albeit by a narrow margin—by playing an aggressive, positive style of the game.

England’s win at Lord’s two years ago was expected. Their win on Monday held a lot more significance.

At the beginning of the summer, facing an opposition whose rise has coincided with their decline, victory was crucial. It heightened self-confidence, reassured fans and set a benchmark of the standards that should be aspired to.

A positive result was necessary, but the manner of victory made all the difference. In front of packed stands at the home of cricket, following a largely miserable 18 months, England produced high-quality, high-octane entertainment.

Facing a talented and ambitious opposition, they showed character, grit and fight to swing momentum and force the win. The experienced heads from two years earlier contributed, but it was the young, exciting players who inspired the long-missed buzz around the national team.

Mark Wood bowled with unrelenting enthusiasm and pace. Moeen Ali punched lower-order runs and held a difficult catch to win the match. Ben Stokes hit the fastest Test century in the history of Lord’s and ran in with determination to take two crucial wickets in the second innings.

The Headingley Test now represents an opportunity for England to maintain this new-found momentum, forget their recent disappointments and return to the successes of 2013.

At Headingley in 2013 against a Kiwi attack led by Southee and Boult, Cook and Root both scored centuries. James Anderson and Broad took wickets. Despite the rain, England won in four days.

New Zealand offer the perfect kind of opposition for England in this situation. The two sides are evenly matched in every aspect. The visitors will attack, pose questions and cause problems. They will not lie down or be blown away at Headingley. England will need to play their best cricket.

This Test match could represent another step in the right direction, a step toward regaining form and stability.

England have a good mix of experience and youth—those who have experienced past glories and those who are driven by creating their own. Both are united in their goals. A new coach is imminent and a fresh start awaits, but first they can build on what they began at Lord’s.

Two years ago, England won a two Test series against New Zealand 2-0. The positivity, self-assurance and stability engendered by the summer opener led to a 3-0 Ashes win.

England will be hoping the Headingley Test is another move in the footsteps of 2013.

Ben Stokes stood at the top of his mark, a vibrant noise emanating from the stands at Lord's as Corey Anderson took guard. A day earlier, the tattooed redhead had delighted the crowd in St John's Wood with an instinctive, swashbuckling display with the bat, and 24 hours later, he was doing the same with the ball. 

After a quick look around, Anderson was set and ready. Stokes took the first couple of steps in his run up, that vibrant noise doubling itself instantly. A few more steps. It doubled again. A few more. And again. 

As Stokes reached the crease, making the little inward step that makes his delivery stride distinctive, he was met with an avalanche of sound. That sound of anticipation. The sound of excitement. 

The sound of winning. 

Stokes' delivery went through to Jos Buttler, Anderson shouldering arms with relative ease. A hat-trick ball had been negotiated, but an atmospheric Lord's was only just getting started. A thrilling Test had seen the ground's energy crescendo. It was loud. Genuinely. And notable. 

For a considerable time now, England's cricket crowds have been dreary. At Headingley last year against Sri Lanka, it was Siberian-wilderness like for the simple fact that no one had bothered to turn up; at Lord's against India, the home fans were left exasperated, then silenced by the travelling support. 

Basically, English crowds have been like the national team: colourless and uninspired. For England fans, for everyone really, the England team has been hard to watch, hard to listen to and even harder to love. 

But here, Lord's was loving Stokes. Loving Joe Root. Loving Alastair Cook. Loving England.

And with good reason.

On Monday, England became just the 14th side in history to win after conceding 500 or more runs in the first innings. On the opening morning, they'd been 30 for four. At one point in their response, New Zealand were 337 for two. On the fourth morning, England had been 74 for three, still 60 behind. And yet they won by 124 runs anyway. And how was uplifting. 

It had been bold, front-foot cricket that had rescued and propelled England. Twice. In the first innings, Root and Stokes' dashing partnership thwarted the surging visitors. In the second, Stokes' explosion blew them away. 

With an infectious positivity spread by two 20-somethings, England out-adventured the most adventurous. Out-braved the bravest. New Zealand had arrived as one of the game's hottest teams, led by the most daring of captains, still bathing in a sparkling World Cup campaign.

No one thought England would win a shootout with the Kiwis. If England won, it would be because they ground Brendon McCullum and his men down. Because they used the attritional stuff. Used their experience and knowhow. Well, that was the consensus anyway. One borne out of several seasons of unwavering conservatism.

As such, this first Test has been hugely significant for England. It's so much more than a win—it's an eradicator of negativity; it's a blueprint; it's a way forward. The effect it could yield might be profound.

Monday's victory could be a seminal one for England. Suddenly, the focus will shift away from the misery—the coach's sacking, the Kevin Pietersen saga, the cynicism surrounding Andrew Strauss, the fury with the board, the public's detachment from the game.

Now, there's something else. There are reasons to watch, to smile. Reasons for England to start loving its national team again. The dazzling Stokes has given England that. So too the unrelenting Root. The recovering Cook. The promising Mark Wood. The fresher Stuart Broad. The 400-wicket bound James Anderson. 

In the books, it's only a single win. In reality, it's so much more. 

The whole complexion of England's summer has just changed. 

England pulled off a famous victory over New Zealand on the final day of the first Test at Lord’s.

The tourists, set 345 to win, were dismissed for 220 in their second innings as Alastair Cook's side pulled off a 124-run victory in a topsy-turvy encounter.

Stuart Broad removed final man Trent Boult, with just 57 balls left in the match, as England took a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.

			Runs	Minutes	Balls	4s	6s
Guptill	c Ballance	b Anderson	0	1	2	0	0
Latham	lbw	b Broad	0	7	1	0	0
Williamson	c Root	b Stokes	27	101	70	3	0
Taylor	lbw	b Broad	8	18	12	1	0
Watling	c Buttler	b Wood	59	193	143	9	0
B McCullum		b Stokes	0	1	1	0	0
Anderson	lbw	b Root	67	128	87	13	1
Craig		b Stokes	4	33	24	0	0
Southee	c and b Moeen		20	21	16	3	0
Henry	not out		10	39	24	1	0
Boult	c Moeen	b Broad	10	37	26	2	0
Extras		1nb 2w 5b 7lb	15
Bowler			Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
Anderson			13	5	28	1
Broad			16.3	3	50	3
Wood			13	3	47	1
Stokes			12	3	41	3
Moeen			8	3	35	1

In the morning, England resumed their second innings on 429-6 and added 49 runs in 11 overs before being dismissed for 478 with Boult taking all four wickets.

Boult finished with 5-85 with Cook (162) caught behind and Broad (10) and James Anderson (0) clean bowled with Moeen Ali (43) trapped lbw in between the new ball pair.

8,860 - Alastair Cook (8,860, 202 innings) has scored more runs than anyone else in the last 10 years of Test cricket. Leader. @ECB_cricket

— OptaJim (@OptaJim) May 25, 2015

That meant the tourists had 77 overs to reach the target, but they had a torrid start with Anderson and Broad removing openers Martin Guptill, caught at slip, and Tom Latham, trapped lbw, for ducks in the opening seven balls.

The Black Caps were teetering on 21-3 at lunch, as Broad trapped Ross Taylor (8) plumb in front with a full delivery, and the focus would have switched to saving the match rather than winning it during the adjournment.

17 - Stuart Broad is now the leading 4th innings wicket-taker at @HomeOfCricket (17 wickets at 16.6 average & 35.6 strike rate). Finisher.

— OptaJim (@OptaJim) May 25, 2015

It was 45 minutes into the afternoon session before England made another breakthrough as Sunday’s century hero, Ben Stokes, took two balls in as many deliveries.

Joe Root, who dropped Taylor earlier, held a good catch in the gully as first innings centurion Kane Williamson (27) fended at a lifting delivery before a vicious in-swinger cramped captain Brendon McCullum for room and he played on.

.@englandcricket's Ben Stokes is mobbed by his teammates after taking Brendon McCullum's wicket. Photo: Visionhaus pic.twitter.com/eDQXNt1ySH

— Investec Cricket (@InvestecCricket) May 25, 2015

Corey Anderson decided that attack was the best form of defence, and he brought up his half-century off just 44 balls as NZ reached 134-5 at tea.

Watling & Anderson walk off for tea having put on 77. Eng need five wkts with NZ 134-5 http://t.co/Dry0cXRbn3 #EngvNZ pic.twitter.com/BdNPNq6eD8

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) May 25, 2015

He shared a 107-run partnership with BJ Watling, promoted to five in the order, who batted defiantly for 59 before gloving Mark Wood to Jos Buttler behind the stumps.

Three overs later, Anderson was adjudged lbw to Joe Root for 67, and when Stokes pegged back Mark Craig’s off-stump, England were sniffing victory.

It's close but Anderson has to go - lbw to Root for 67. NZ 174-7. Watch on SS2. http://t.co/aF6RcSwP1P #EngvNZ pic.twitter.com/FjX1kt1rCc

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) May 25, 2015

Moeen Ali took a sharp return catch off Tim Southee (20), as England went into the final hour needing just one wicket, and it was Moeen who took a superb catch at third man to seal the victory.

The teams head to Headingley for the second match of the series, which begins on Friday.

Contrasting centuries from Alastair Cook and Ben Stokes bailed England out of a spot of bother on the fourth day of the first Test against New Zealand.

Captain Cook, a man who barely breaks a sweat and rarely takes the handbrake off when at the crease, slowly but surely worked his way to three figures.

Stokes, in contrast, was the polar opposite to his skipper. Aggressive and full of intent from the outset, he blasted his way to the fastest Test hundred Lord’s has ever seen, as Sky Sports confirmed on Twitter:

Ben Stokes made history with his century at Lord's - the fastest in Test history at the @HomeOfCricket. #EngNZ pic.twitter.com/bSpfExB77i

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) May 24, 2015

England’s version of the tortoise and the hare was not involved in one of Aesop's famous fables. There was no race between them to reach the landmark, simply because the tortoise had a huge head start. 

In fact, Stokes was not even off the mark by the time Cook was celebrating a 27th Test century and a first at cricket HQ since June 2011.

Still, it seemed the Durham all-rounder was on a mission to not only catch up with his team-mate but also even speed past him.

He dominated the 132-run stand for the fifth English wicket that put the Kiwis on the back foot, Cook ending up almost a silent partner as he contributed a mere 24 runs to it.

Stokes took all of 85 deliveries to make it to his ton. Only one player for England had done it quicker: Gilbert Jessop took 76 balls to achieve the feat against Australia in 1902, per S Rajesh of ESPN Cricinfo.

The 23-year-old admitted afterwards to Sky Sports that fortune had favoured the brave, particularly during a must-watch period of play that saw New Zealand's seamers, and Tim Southee in particular, pepper him with short deliveries that he continuously took on despite men being posted in the deep:

I rode my luck a bit I guess with a couple of top edges but I guess you need a bit of luck to succeed.

Things just went my way all day.

I was pretty nervous when I was in the nineties again, but to get that one away was a pretty special feeling and to do it at the home of cricket as well was fantastic and it's something I'll never forget.

It was against Australia that Stokes had made his previous Test ton, hitting 120 in a losing cause in Perth.

This, though, was an innings that came when his team really needed him. When he arrived at the crease, New Zealand must have still fancied their chances of victory. When he departed the field to a standing ovation after falling for 101, England were within touching distance of safety.

His knock was also a personal triumph, particularly after he had made 92 in the first innings before being bowled by off-spinner Mark Craig when offering no stroke.

But, on both occasions, his positivity had helped dig England out of a serious hole. On Day 1 he had walked out to a scoreboard that read 30 for four and proceeded to add 161 in a hurry with Joe Root.

Stoke has flattered to deceive since bursting onto the scene during that disastrous Ashes tour of 2013/14. But, pushed up to bat at six at the start of what is a huge summer, he has now delivered twice when England desperately needed him to.

The New Zealand-born all-rounder launched three sixes to go with his 15 fours during a brutal display of clean hitting.

As Michael Atherton told Sky Sports: "It was a real 'I was there' day for those of us watching Ben Stokes. In years to come people will say, 'were you there on the day that he scored the fastest Test hundred at Lord’s?'"

Cook, meanwhile, simply carried on accumulating runs right through to the close.

The opener carried his bat through the day to finish up unbeaten on 153 not out, putting his team into a lead of 295. It is sizeable, but still not quite enough to be safe just yet.

There is no more talk about Cook’s place being under threat now, though, not after he’s wracked up two hundred and two half-centuries in his last six Test knocks.

The tortoise-like Cook will look to keep on plodding along on the final morning of the match, slowly and steadily leading England to a position where the worst possible outcome they can achieve in the contest is a draw.

Ben Stokes hits the fastest Test century ever at Lord's as he brings up his ton off 85 balls... #ENGvNZ pic.twitter.com/hqSIJBOG57

— Ladbrokes (@Ladbrokes) May 24, 2015

Ben Stokes scored the fastest Test century of all time at Lord's on Day 4 of the first Test between England and New Zealand.

The Durham all-rounder reached three figures from 85 balls.

The previous record was held by Mohammad Azharuddin, who scored a ton off 87 balls for India against England in 1990.

Stokes hit 15 boundaries and three sixes in his innings, as he shared a century partnership with captain Alastair Cook.

It is the 129th Test match at the famous north London ground.

[Twitter] 

On the second day of England’s first Test at home to New Zealand at Lord’s, seam bowler Mark Wood thought he had his first wicket in the longest form on debut.

The 25-year-old thought he had opener Martin Guptill caught at slip, but he was pulled back by the umpire for overstepping and had his delivery called a no ball.

At the end of the day, the luckless Wood found himself wicketless and frustrated like the rest of his team-mates, who had toiled against a strong Black Caps batting lineup.

The following day, with the away side in a strong position, Wood could so easily have let his head drop as he ran in and had very little success early on.

However, things changed as he picked up three wickets in the visitors’ first innings, including the dangerous Brendon McCullum first.

Not only that, Wood was consistently bowling at around 90 mph, even late on in spells after having sent down a number of overs.

It should serve as a lesson to his team-mates, who go into the fourth day on 74 for two, behind by 60 runs still with eight wickets in hand.

This game has been a difficult start to the summer for England so far, although they can be encouraged by their display on the third day.

New Zealand were 303 for two when they kicked off proceedings on Saturday at Lord’s, in a strong position and surely hopeful of taking a big lead before the close of play.

However, led by Wood and with support coming from Stuart Broad and Moeen Ali with the ball, England fought back to take the remaining eight wickets for just 220 runs.

Even Ben Stokes continued to run in well and generate movement through the air and off the pitch, although he was not rewarded for his efforts with wickets.

When the Black Caps were all out for 523, they took a lead of just 134 into the second innings, an advantage they would have wanted to be far greater given where they started.

Unfortunately for the hosts, things started badly as both Adam Lyth and Gary Ballance were removed cheaply with just 25 runs on the board.

It meant that captain Alastair Cook and Ian Bell had to rebuild their innings, and they managed to do so with both men unbeaten at the close.

It was another strong fightback after a worrying top-order batting collapse, and it is something that will need to be continued Sunday by the home side.

They have been made to work incredibly hard to stay in this game by a very talented New Zealand team, and they have been up against it throughout.

However, they have managed to recover on several occasions, both with bat and ball, and they need to do more of the same.

England could do worse than following the example of their debutant fast bowler, who has shown plenty of character already himself.

If England felt they had the better of things after the opening day of the series opener against New Zealand, the tourists definitely dominated Day 2 at Lord’s.

The Black Caps reached stumps on Friday on 303 for two, leaving them trailing their opponents by just 86 runs in the first of two Tests between the nations.

With Kane Williamson set to resume just eight short of a century, and with eight wickets still in hand, New Zealand are on course to claim a substantial first-innings lead.

England can rightly point to the fact that they had to bat on Thursday morning, when the conditions were at their toughest. They failed to pass the early examination, leaving them 30 for four after just 74 deliveries.

Since then, only eight more wickets have fallen in the game at a cost of 662 runs.

The surface has lost the greenish tinge it had on the first morning, and the Lord's outfield gives batsmen full value for their shots. Conditions became ideal for scoring runs, as England’s bowlers found out to their cost.

Perhaps things may have been different for the hosts if a couple of key moments had gone their way.

Martin Guptill had 24 to his name when he saw an outside edge fly off his bat toward first slip, where England captain Alastair Cook took a sharp catch.

For a few seconds, England had an initial breakthrough. It was not just going to be their first of the innings, it was also set to be a maiden Test scalp for paceman Mark Wood. He was understandably delighted, though, his joy quickly evaporated when television replays showed he had overstepped the front line.

The inch which robbed Mark Wood of a maiden test wicket #bbccricket pic.twitter.com/WVIADUbcsg

— Test Match Special (@bbctms) May 22, 2015

The third umpire called a no-ball, giving Guptill another life.

He cashed in to a point, going on to make 70 before falling to a delivery from Stuart Broad that was legal.

Like Guptill, Tom Latham received a reprieve. The left-handed opener was dropped in the slips by Ian Bell shortly after lunch, Ben Stokes the unfortunate bowler to see the chance go down.

The pair went on to punish England for their carelessness, putting on 148 before both well-set batsmen fell in the space of three deliveries.

While Stokes could feel frustrated at Bell’s failure to cling on, his Durham team-mate Wood only had himself to blame for finishing the day without a wicket next to his name on the scoreboard.

His opening spell was impressive, and the wicket of Guptill would have been a real boost to his confidence.

Instead, however, he learnt a harsh lesson: At the highest level, it is all about the small margins.

Had he managed to get any part of his left boot to land behind the line, Guptill would have been on his way; meaning Williamson would have walked out just prior to lunch to face a ball still only 13 overs old.

By the time New Zealand's No. 3 did reach the middle, England were stuck on the back foot.

Wood finished the day with figures of none for 60. He had been a breath of fresh air to start with, as former England international Chris Tremlett pointed out on Twitter:

Mark Wood looking good. Impressive start. Definitely brings something a bit different to the attack.

— Chris Tremlett (@ChrisTremlett33) May 22, 2015

The 25-year-old from Ashington, the same town as former Durham and England bowler Steve Harmison, had gathered plenty of attention on social media for his rather unusual run-up.

Sliding his right foot back as a trigger movement, Wood suddenly sets off on a short approach. He seems to arrive at the crease in a rush, though it's his pace through the air that gives opposing players the hurry-up.

Jonathan Liew compared him to Simon Jones, a Welshman who had a similarly economical run-up but was also seriously quick, in the Telegraph:

Like Jones, Wood has an unusually short run-up. He lurches backwards before he begins, then motors in off just eight strides. (By way of comparison, one of Wood’s idols Michael Holding used to take almost three times as many, and on smaller grounds would begin his run-up somewhere near the car park.)  Around six strides in, he springs off his toes just a little, like a high-jumper in his final approach.  At the moment of delivery, his body is front-on to the batsman, looking inside his leading arm. Then – whoosh – the right arm comes whipping over like a catapult.

Alec Stewart also saw the resemblance to Jones, who was part of England’s famous Ashes-winning squad in 2005 before injuries cut short his international career:

https://twitter.com/StewieCricket/status/601719233102348288

Wood could well be involved against Australia later this summer.

He is still a work in progress (it should not be overlooked that he has only played in 24 first-class fixtures to date), but he did offer something different to a bowling unit still over-reliant on James Anderson as well as the occasional hot spell from Stuart Broad.

While he has a sketchy health record, as Richard Gibson pointed out in a profile of the player for the Daily Mail, he has the raw ingredients required to prosper in the Test arena.

The touring Australians won’t have seen too much of him, and used in the right way, he could be the kind of strike weapon England can use to their advantage in their bid to regain the miniature urn.

First, though, they must find a way of bowling themselves back into contention against New Zealand. Wood can help them do that, so long as he understands now that there is a thin line between success and failure.

Ian Bell walked back toward the Lord's Pavilion with a look on his face that blended bewilderment, anger and exasperation. New Zealand's debutant Matt Henry had just delivered him what Shane Warne would call a "peach," one that caught the top of the Englishman's off stump to make his recent batting record look like binary: 1, 0, 0, 1. 

England's card didn't look much better on the opening morning of this first Test of the summer. Adam Lyth had feathered a nick to BJ Watling on seven, Alastair Cook had gloved an attempted hook shot to the same man on 16 and Gary Ballance had trudged off with just a single next to his name. 

Bell's dismissal at the hands of Henry left England at 30 for four. Lord's had been silenced—the normal, upbeat murmur that emanates from the stands missing. Andrew Strauss, watching his first Test as the director of England cricket, looked tense. The host's balcony equally so, as Moeen Ali, in at eight, rushed around the boundary line to the dressing room to return from a net session alarmingly early. 

After just 13 overs, it was unravelling for England. And not just this innings or this Test—a lot more than that.

But just minutes earlier, before Bell had departed back to the pavilion, Joe Root had skipped the other way, a picture of energy. He'd made his way briskly toward the middle, simulating his drives, almost sprinting to the wicket. 

Once there, he'd looked around and smiled, looking every bit 16 rather than 24. Or like a happy dog on the edge of the water at the beach, oblivious to all else. 

First ball: a confident forward defence. Second ball: a pristine cover drive to the fence. Four.

Though Bell's wicket would follow, England's rescue act had started. Root, in two balls, had altered the innings' course. He'd shown how. 

---

When Root made his Test debut against India in Nagpur in 2012, he embarked upon his maiden innings in one of the most pivotal Tests in England's modern history. After dropping the series opener in Ahmedabad, England's two emphatic victories in Mumbai and Kolkata had Cook's men on the verge of a historic triumph. 

An England side hadn't won a Test series on Indian soil in 28 years. In that time, England's number of Test victories there had totalled one. A series triumph there would be a watershed moment in the English game. 

But when Root arrived at the crease during his team's first innings in the final Test in Nagpur, it was all hanging precariously. When he skipped his way to the crease—just like he did at Lord's on Thursday—the visitors were 119 for four. Then, almost immediately, Kevin Pietersen fell. Five down. Little more than 100 on the board.

India had their tails up, an ominous proposition on their home soil. The pitch was dry, cracked. Paul Collingwood had said it was like the "bottom of a dried river bed." And India were playing four spinners in a five-man attack. 

Less than four months on from that day in mid-December, India crushed Australia four-nil in the same conditions. Against that spin-dominated Indian attack, Michael Clarke's team didn't get close. At all. 

But Root, on debut, presented with the same opponent, fought and scrapped his way to 73—the joint-highest score for the innings. He chewed up 229 balls, sapping time and life away from the hosts.

From possible implosion, England made 330. 

And they went on to make history. 

---

After Root's debut, England had quickly come to recognise the baby-faced right-hander as the archetypal Yorkshire batsman: technically correct, watchful, hands under his eyes. But he wasn't exactly thrilling crowds. 

His maiden innings was that 229-ball 73. Next came a 56-ball 20. Not long afterwards in New Zealand, he battled for 176 balls for just 45, following that with a 79-ball 29 and a 114-ball 40. 

The circumstances for a number of those knocks had been tricky, yes. But a fluency and a sense of adventure seemed to be lacking. His game felt very serious but not much fun.

Then, he returned to Yorkshire. To Headingley—home of the technically correct, the watchful and hands under eyes. 

Against a New Zealand attack in the beginning stages of its emergence—Trent Boult was playing his 15th Test, Tim Southee his 26th—Root, on a bowler-friendly surface damp from the previous day's rain, worked his way smoothly to 66. 

Then, from three Kane Williamson deliveries, it happened: skip down the wicket, flick for four; down on one knee, sweep for four; react to the field change, reverse sweep for four. 

"Six Tests in and the kid was taking the mickey," ESPN Cricinfo's Mark Nicholas wrote. 

Root reached his first Test hundred.

And the shackles were off. 

---

Since Root scored that maiden Test hundred at Headingley in mid-2013, he's reached five more in the two years that have followed. One was a double, and all have been "daddy hundreds"—the way he labelled them this week. 

Indeed, in the five times he's reached three figures since that first milestone, his lowest score is 149. And four of the five—the last four—have been unbeaten.  

Against Sri Lanka last summer, his double hundred came in quick time on a good batting surface at Lord's (just like his 180 against Australia at the same venue a year earlier), pushing England to a colossal 575 at more than four runs per over. 

Against India, his 154 at Trent Bridge was compiled alongside James Anderson in a record-breaking 10th-wicket partnership, turning a possibly massive first-innings deficit into a 39-run lead. In the same series, his rapid 149 (165 balls) at The Oval crushed the visitors in the final Test. 

And when his top-order team-mates had put on a dour, uninspiring response to the West Indies' 299 in Grenada last month, Root graced his way to a fluent 182 on a difficult, two-paced wicket to set up a victory. 

In every situation—setting a target, chasing the game, accelerating an innings, saving an innings—Root has triumphed. In all conditions—fast wickets, slow wickets, green wickets, spin-friendly wickets—Root has soared above the rest. 

And every time, there's been an overriding quality: effervescence. There's something about Root that sparkles. 

"He loves batting, and even in his most defensive mode, his mind ticks so obviously that he is eminently watchable," wrote ESPN Cricinfo's David Hopps during last summer's series against India. "You feel you can hear it ticking loudly enough to keep the entire street awake at night."

---

Alongside Ben Stokes, Root skipped out of the Lord's Pavilion, down the stairs and onto the turf as England and New Zealand prepared to resume play after lunch on Thursday. 

A picture of energy (like always), he simulated his drives (like always), looking to continue yet another rescue operation that he himself had started. 

Head down, midway through his last imitated drive, Root collided with a cameraman closely tracking the England pair's walk to the middle.

The cameraman toppled over. 

For Root, his routine had been interrupted, his concentration broken. In a critical moment, the match poised delicately, a frustrated reaction would have been understandable. Natural even.

But that's just not Root's way. He helped the cameraman to his feet, lifting the heavy equipment away. Then, with almost perfect technique, he began filming himself.   

Joe Root turns cameraman midway through his England inningshttp://t.co/0zZFajS9Bz pic.twitter.com/C5i3C2FTPo

— Express Sport (@DExpress_Sport) May 21, 2015

In the hours that followed, he cruised to a possibly match-defining 98.

All with a smile on his face. Looking like that happy dog on the beach. 

Right now, Root can do it all.