Joe Root said he needs to grow up and that he cannot complain if he is punished after the petulant reaction to his dismissal yesterday.
Alastair Cook, the England captain, said that the 25-year-old was “ready” to take on his role in the aftermath of the touring team’s innings defeat in the fourth Test in Mumbai on Monday.
Root’s innings of 88, and a fifth Test hundred for Moeen Ali, who reached the close unbeaten on 120, helped England to post an encouraging 284 for four on the first day of this match.
However, Root’s behaviour, appearing to mouth the word “bulls***” and kicking out at a boundary rope after he was given out caught behind on review off the bowling of Ravindra Jadeja, was not worthy of someone being groomed to lead his country.
The frustration of Root, the England vice-captain, was understandable given that Parthiv Patel, the India wicketkeeper, did not even appeal for the decision, which was given not out on the field by umpire Marais Erasmus.
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Yet Virat Kohli, the India captain, appeared convinced that there had been contact and his instinct was rewarded when Bruce Oxenford, the TV umpire, gave Root out after a small spike on the UltraEdge technology as the ball passed the Yorkshireman’s bat.
“I probably was a bit childish with my reaction as I walked off,” Root said. “But playing international cricket, you’re going to be disappointed when you feel you’ve been hard done by — even if you haven’t.
“There was frustration there and hopefully I can start growing up a bit more. If I get punished then I’m sure it’s deserved.”
Root, who could face sanctions from the ICC if the incident is reported by Jeff Crowe, the match referee, added: “I was convinced I didn’t hit it. Obviously the technology suggests otherwise.
“If you look at the wicketkeeper’s reaction, he’s not interested either. I think Kohli just went with his gut and it worked out. You just have to take it on the chin.”
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Root has now passed 50 in all 11 Tests he has played against India. He has, though, a dismal overall conversion rate, going on to reach a hundred only three times on the past 17 occasions that he has scored a half-century and only 11 times from 38 in his career.
Root, who also fell 11 runs short of overtaking Michael Vaughan’s mark of 1,481 for the most Test runs scored by an England batsman in a calendar year, said: “I’d be lying if I was to say I wasn’t frustrated about it. I will sit down and have a think in the new year.
“Hopefully Santa will help me out and fill the stocking with some runs. The milestones don’t mean anything if you don’t win any games but if you’re scoring big hundreds you’re giving the team a chance.”
Root was full of praise for the contribution by Ali from No 4. His place in the top six had been questioned after a run of 73 runs in six innings after he scored a century in the first Test of the series at Rajkot.
“I thought the way Mo played was excellent,” Root said. “I think he’s taken that added responsibility of batting higher up the order really well on this tour and proved it with two brilliant hundreds. He’s becoming a world-class top-order batter.”
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As for his own form, Root claims that an impromptu net on the street outside the ground in Madras on the eve of this Test helped him iron out a technical glitch.
He had scored 77 in the second innings in Mumbai but felt work needed to be done before this match. So, after the nets at the MA Chidambaram Stadium were rendered unusable by the cyclone that struck the city on Monday, Root enlisted the help of some locals to help him prepare.
“My feet were all over the place against the seamers in Mumbai, so I wanted to iron a few things out,” he said.
“We were helped by a few local guys and managed to get a few things sorted. Something clicked into place. It was nice to go back to being a kid again and remembering what it’s like to play on a street with your mates.”