JOE ROOT left England fans with jaws on the floor in the First Test win over New Zealand.. and not for his match-winning century.
The hosts ended their horror Test drought by chasing down an impressive 277 to run out victors at Lord’s under new captain Ben Stokes.
Joe Root’s bat appeared to hover as he stood at the non-striker’s end during England’s win over New Zealand
But all the plaudits went to his predecessor, Root, after his sensational fourth-innings knock.
Root, ably supported by Stokes and then Ben Foakes, accumulated at a perfect pace as he looked completely in control throughout his 170-ball knock.
And at one stage, he seemingly defied physics.
Standing at the non-striker’s end as Kyle Jamieson charged in to bowl, Root’s bat almost hovered as it stood perfectly upright with absolutely no support from the England No4.
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Viewers were left in disbelief, with Gary Lineker even tweeting: “He’s a magician.”
One added: “I knew @root66 was talented but not as magic as this. What is this sorcery?”
Another wrote: “Matrix glitch again.”
A third joked: “His bat is New Balance, that’s how.”
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One added: “He’s magic.”
Everyone seemed to have a theory – with many suggesting the bottom of his bat is completely flat, rather than slightly rounded.
One claimed: “Flat bottomed bat.”
A second said: “He has shaved off the bottom of his bat so it is flat. Noticed this last night.”
Another joked: “Flat bottomed bats they make the rocking world go round.”
In the game, Root racked up a number of impressive milestones.
His ton was his first-ever in the fourth innings of a match, while he also reached 10,000 Test runs at EXACTLY the same age as Sir Alastair Cook.
But former England captain Cook is in no doubt Root will comfortably surpass his career tally of 12,472 before he retires.
After Root’s heroics, Cook claimed: “He is a pleasure to watch, the most complete England batsman I have seen.
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“The person who could play the most incredible innings was Kevin Pietersen, but for the most complete batsmen in all three forms, it’s Root.
“His consistency is incredible… barring injury, he’ll go miles past my record.”
