Joe Root's LBW Struggles: A Trend, Not a Crisis

Joe Root has heard the whispers. He has seen the replays. He knows the numbers.

Nine times lbw in his past seven Tests. An average of 29.44 this home summer, the second-lowest of his 14-year international career. Only two scores above 50. For most players, that sort of run would set off alarm bells.

Root? He leans on something heavier than a month of bad scores.

“I've got 14,000 runs for a reason,” England’s all-time leading Test run-scorer told BBC’s Today at the Test. “I've played this game a long time and I've always found ways of solving those problems and working it through. I don't see this as being any different.”

At 35, Root is deep into a career that has already placed him in the rarest company. Only Sachin Tendulkar sits above him on the all-time Test runs list, the Yorkshireman’s 14,208 putting him clear of every other batter to have worn an England cap. That kind of weight gives him perspective when the ball keeps thudding into the pad.

A trend, not a crisis

The pattern is obvious. Bowlers have zeroed in on his front pad and they keep getting a reward.

Since the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, when Jhye Richardson trapped him in the second innings, Root has been lbw nine times in 12 Test innings, all to pace bowlers. Every one of those dismissals has come against right-armers, pitching the ball outside off and jagging it back in. Not express pace, either. These are seamers operating at around 84mph, not tearaways blowing him away.

Last summer, David Warner had a dig, suggesting Root would “have to take the surfboard off his front leg” if he wanted success in the Ashes. At that point, the numbers did not support the barb. From August 2022 through to the fourth Ashes Test in Melbourne that December, Root had been lbw to seamers only three times in Test cricket.

The problem has arrived later, and with a vengeance.

Root recognises the trend. He also points out the margins.

“Of course it's frustrating that there's sort of a trend,” he said. “There are probably four umpires' calls within that, which could have gone the other way, and the ball is probably deviating more than it ever has.

“You try and be realistic and understand where everything's at, but also be aware of what you need to do to keep improving and keep getting better. I'm pretty sure I'll get through the other side. I'm not too concerned about that.”

The moving ball and the Dukes debate

This has been a hard summer for batters in England. The ball has swung, it has seamed, and it has kept doing something long after it should have gone soft.

Root has not been shy in highlighting that challenge.

He believes part of the difficulty lies not just in conditions, but in the ball itself. Specifically, the Dukes.

“The balls have been different this summer,” he said. “I think there is a different lacquer. They were worried about it going out of shape. They are denting surfaces more.”

Dukes, contacted by the BBC, denied any change to their manufacturing process. Root, though, is out in the middle, watching balls bite into pitches and jag late. For a player who thrives on judging length early and playing the ball under his nose, that extra movement and hardness brings risk – especially when bowlers target his front pad from wide of the crease.

Still, he refuses to hide behind excuses.

“You're never given anything in this game,” he said. “You have to work for everything. You have to keep working hard and I'll certainly keep doing that.

“You're constantly going to get challenged and you're constantly going to have to look to evolve and learn, but that's never been something I've shied away from and I certainly won't be doing moving forward.”

Faith in a proven problem-solver

Root’s confidence is not blind. It is built on a career of adjustments.

He has already rebuilt his technique more than once – tightening his defence early on, then later adding aggression and range to become the engine of England’s batting and the heartbeat of the Bazball era. When bowlers found a method, he usually found a counter.

Michael Vaughan, another former England captain who knows the scrutiny that comes with the job, sees this as just the latest puzzle for Root to solve.

“He's always overcome problems and I'm pretty sure he'll overcome this one,” Vaughan said. “It is an issue because it's happening on a regular basis, but he's had issues in the past that he's managed to come back from. There's no question he'll be fine in time.”

The lbw numbers cannot be wished away. Bowlers will keep coming from that right-arm-over angle, keep pitching it outside off and hunting that front pad until Root proves he has an answer.

He has 14,208 reasons to believe he will. The next innings will tell everyone else whether the great problem-solver of England’s middle order is ready with another solution.