England’s new Test skipper Ben Stokes revealed the batting position of the former captain and star hitter Joe Root. The Christchurch-born, who currently represents Durham in the ongoing County Championship Division Tw0 2022, said Root will be number four in the next round of home Tests against New Zealand.
Notably, Root, who resigned as captain last month after five years in the role, struck at number three in England’s recent Test battle against the West Indies, which the visitors lost 1-0. Root performed well at number four, finishing as England’s top scorer with 289 runs from his six innings, including two centuries.
However, when it comes to his overall career, Root has a much better record at number four. The 31-year-old has a remarkable 51.27 batting average at number four, compared to 39.67 at number three.
Stokes felt Root is batting his best at number four before confirming he will bat at number six in the next set of Red Balls against the Black Caps, starting June 2.
“I already spoke with Joe. I asked him to come back at four, and I will be at six. Wherever Joe bats, he gets runs, but his best position is at four. Joe will probably average 90 now instead of 60 (Root average in 2021) so that will be good,” said Stokes, quoted by Sky Sports.
The 30-year-old urged people to raise their hands to be selected at three and five. Stokes mentioned he would focus on who is doing good in the County Championship to find candidates for the number three and five positions.
“I feel it at four and me at six gives us some experience in that gap. So you can obviously see where the squares open up for people to raise their hands, it’s three and five. I now feel like I have to follow a lot more county games now to see who is scoring rather than just checking Durham’s score,” added Stokes.
