Youngsters Joe Root, Gary Ballance Both England's Present and Future
"Thereafter, he milked singles as simply as if he was picking apples from an unattended basket full of already picked apples. He pulled meatily, but caressed drives with almost vegan delicateness. He hit boundaries so sweetly that, had the ball been an egg, it would have hit the fence not only uncracked but perfectly cooked."
You thought those words were about Joe Root didn't you?
They're not. Instead, ESPN Cricinfo's Andy Zaltzman used them to reflect on Steven Smith—perhaps the it cricketer of right now—after another sublime hundred had steered Australia past India and into the World Cup final.
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As Smith did so, he took his one-day average past 40. After his recent blitz in the Test arena, his five-day figure is in excess of 50.
Almost exactly the same record as Root.
Indeed, following his twin half-centuries against the West Indies in Antigua this week, the young Englishman now has 1,874 Test runs at an average of 52.05. From three more matches and eight additional innings, Smith has 2,304 at 52.36.
Yet, it's the Australian who's the darling of world cricket right now. Smith—not Root—is the blonde-haired, right-handed, 20-something sensation whose successes are being discussed over and over again in awe. He's the guy who's completed a journey from ridiculed leg-spinner to world-conquering batsman. The player who ascended to the Australian captaincy to cover for Michael Clarke. The record-breaker against India. The World Cup champion. The idiosyncratic star who's shining when the textbooks say he shouldn't.
"Smith" is the word on everyone's lips. Smith. Smith. Smith. It's his world that we live in, his ongoing Indian Premier League feats only heightening that sense.
But on the other side of the world, underneath a blue helmet rather than a green one, Root—in the Test arena at least—is quietly establishing himself as Smith's equal.
On Monday, the 24-year-old arrived at the crease alongside Ian Bell after England had slumped to 34 for three. In the wake of a tumultuous winter for England, every disaster conceivable was possible. Even against a West Indian outfit Colin Graves had labelled "mediocre."
At the other end, Bell was circumspect. Watchful. It had taken him 20 balls to get off the mark. He lacked his usual fluency.
Then Root came to join him. After immediately pushing a single from his second ball like he was picking an apple "from an unattended basket full of already picked apples," he gave the innings impetus. He pushed balls into gaps. He tested fielders. He ran swiftly.
On the back foot, he cut hard. On the front foot, he drove gracefully. By using his feet, he never let Sulieman Benn settle.
By the end of the 31st over, Bell had 20 runs from 62 balls in difficult circumstances. Root had 23 from 47.
All those batting buzz words and phrases—"busy at the crease," "alert," "calm," "positive"; Root was them all.
His brisk 83 changed the Test. What's more, it also gave breathing room to Bell, helping the veteran to gradually capture his own rhythm.
Root's exuberant innings benefitted another. And he would do so again.
After establishing a strong first-innings lead, England fell in another heap, as the wickets of Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott and Bell made it 52 for three.
Root, at five, again in early. At the other end this time was Gary Ballance.
Like Bell had been earlier in the game, Ballance, after a difficult winter, looked out of sorts. He seemed to be fighting his own technique. He back lift was short and defensive. His feet didn't want to move.
He'd laboured to 13 from 41 deliveries.
So again, Root went to work. He nudged balls into gaps, pushed a two into a three and clubbed Benn over the fence while on one knee.
Suddenly sensing freedom, Ballance cashed in with three boundaries of his own from his next nine balls faced, Root giving life to another needing team-mate.
The next day, Ballance, showcasing his own unique blend of steel and elegance, reached a determined century—his fourth in just 15 Test innings, to go along with three 50s.
His average now sits at a handsome 61.50—the highest figure in the England team—and if he were to score 139 runs in his next innings, he'll be the joint-sixth fastest player to 1,000 Tests runs in history.
Not bad.
Naturally, the Zimbabwean-born left-hander and Root represent the future of the England team. But they're more than that, too—they're the present, England's current stars as well.
When India visited the UK last summer, Root and Ballance topped the run-scoring charts with 518 and 503 runs, respectively. The supposed cornerstones of the order in Cook (298) and Bell (297) were both more than 200 runs behind.
In all formats of the game since the beginning of 2013, no one has more runs for England than Root. In the Test arena since Ballance's debut against Australia last year, the two youngsters among England's batsmen are head and shoulders in front of their team-mates.
They're the present and the future.
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