The late Graham Thorpe, Joe Root’s old mentor, who committed suicide earlier this month, is the recipient of his 33rd Test century. With a signature four through third man in his 145th test, the 33-year-old moved to three figures and tied former England opener Alastair Cook’s record for most Test centuries. He celebrated by looking to the heavens.
Root, whose 143 helped England overcome a difficult opening day, said, “I’ve been very lucky to work with a lot of people, whether it be senior players, coaches, mentors,
It was pleasant to think of Thorpe at that precise moment. He invested a lot of time and energy into my career and game, and I certainly wouldn’t be where I am now without his support. “I first saw him during a Yorkshire second-team match against Surrey at Stamford Bridge [in 2010],” Root recalled.
He was with the England Lions, and I broke into the County Championship team the following year. He selected me for a Lions match at Scarborough against Sri Lanka before I reached 100 in first-class cricket.
He noticed something about me and tried to get me to spend that winter working with him. We put a lot of effort into improving our game against spin, which includes using various sweeps to get close to the ball and move away from it.
We also worked hard on my game against pace, making sure that you are proficient in the parts of the game that differ from county cricket, Root said. Joe Root downplayed his century, which tied the England record, and insisted that he still wanted to play.