Much has been made of Joe Root being dropped for England’s deciding T20 match against India last Sunday. Root is England’s best all-round batsman so you’d think he would be one of the first names on the team sheet irrespective of format.
But T20 has become a game of boundaries and while Root can find them when set, he is not a natural big-hitter so is compromised when slogging is required from the outset.
Not being able to slog has afflicted quite a few leading batsmen over the years. Alec Stewart, a sublime timer of the ball, could not do it, at least not convincingly....