England captain Joe Root hoping for ‘positive impact’ as cricket emerges from lockdown

The England Test captain is keen to improve his conversion rate compared to the other great players of the modern era.

Root has scored 17 Test hundreds and 48 half-centuries in a career that has brought him over 7,500 runs at an average close to 50.

The other members of world cricket’s so-called “Fab Four” have converted as follows - Virat Kohli 27 hundreds against 22 fifties, Steve Smith 26 hundreds against 29 fifties, and Kane Williamson 21 hundreds against 31 fifties.

Root, who is currently eighth in the world rankings and the highest-ranked Englishman, said: “I think a lot of players will, in some ways, have found a lot of positives from having a period of time like this away from cricket and feel really fresh and energised coming back into it.

“Certainly for me, having played consistently for such a long period of time and some quite high-pressured cricket in the last couple of years in particular, to get a chance to get away I definitely feel that will benefit me moving forward into the next phase.

“I’ve enjoyed having that bit of time away to think about the game as a batter and as a captain, to take a little bit of stock and see what the best way to take the team forward is and my own batting as well, how I will get the best out of myself for the next couple of years.

“Hopefully it will have a positive impact on my cricket and we can start seeing a few more converted scores and England winning plenty of games.”

Root, who returned to training on Monday, hopes to hit the ground running in next month’s planned three-Test series against the West Indies.

England are still awaiting the final government go-ahead but the signs are encouraging and Root is grateful to West Indies for their willingness to travel.

“I absolutely do (feel gratitude),” he said. “It’s obviously been extremely difficult for everyone around the world.

“From my knowledge, the things that have been put in place (safety-wise) have been outstanding; the work that the medical team and ECB logistically have done to make the bubble and the environment as safe as possible is incredible.

“For the West Indies to come over here... they are obviously helping the game massively. Of course, safety is everything, and it wouldn’t be possible if that was going to be compromised, but I think the whole cricketing world will be grateful to see some cricket again.”

Sports such as horse racing and snooker have already returned with football set to follow later this month. Root believes that cricket is working to a sensible timescale as it bids to join them in the coming weeks.

“It’s important that it’s safe first,” he stressed. “It’s something that shouldn’t be rushed. Until it’s absolutely air-tight then we’re going to have to be patient and wait, and I think that’s the best way of doing it.

“The fact that we’re likely to potentially get some cricket anyway is a massive plus in these current times.

“It relies heavily on a lot of things falling into place still, and hopefully that can be the case and we can see some cricket shortly.

“It’s nice to see a small bit of normality come back to things with sport starting again, and it’s very exciting that cricket’s not too far around the corner.”

Root said it felt “really nice” to be back training; the 29-year-old is working at Trent Bridge as opposed to Headingley as it is closer to his South Yorkshire home.

“I was a bit rusty in a few aspects but actually quite pleased with how it all fell together,” said Root, who is working with the Notts coach/former England coach Peter Moores.

“To start with everything seems a million miles an hour, but as a few hours went on it seemed to sort of come back to me and by the end of it all it felt really good.

“It was just nice to enjoy batting again.”

How much batting Root does against the West Indies remains to be seen. His second child is due at the start of July and he confirmed that he will attend the birth even if it means missing a Test match, backing his vice-captain, Ben Stokes, to do a good job if needed to stand in.

“I think if Ben was captain he would be fantastic,” said Root. “One of his great qualities as vice-captain and as a leader is he sets the example – the way he goes about his training, how he wants to bowl in difficult circumstances, the way he stands up in difficult scenarios with the bat.

“He drags people with him and gets the best out of the players and gives the whole team a lift.

“I think that’s a great quality to have as a leader, and something he can definitely take into captaincy if he was to get the opportunity to do it.”

*Three West Indies players have decided against travelling to England for next month’s Test trip, which will go ahead behind closed doors.

Batsmen Darren Bravo and Shimron Hetmyer and fast bowling all-rounder Keemo Paul have been left out of a 25-man touring party comprising a 14-strong squad and 11 reserves, who will train alongside the main group and be available for selection if required.

A Cricket West Indies statement read: “Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer and Keemo Paul all declined the invitation to travel to England for the tour and CWI fully respects their decision to choose to do so.

“CWI will not hold this decision against these players when considering future selection.”