England vs Pakistan: No wonder Joe Root needed back treatment after carrying much of hosts' batting order

England needed runs as quickly as possible and he tried to sweep his way to them, a foolhardy ploy loaded with risk

Joe Root trudges off after being out for 62 (Getty)

No wonder Joe Root needed regular treatment for a bad back at Edgbaston during the third Test against Pakistan.

Carrying much of England’s batting order, as he did on Sunday in an attempt to get enough runs ahead so his captain could declare, placed an undue burden even on his spine, as willing as it always is to take the strain.

Root is England’s most complete batsman but he is not indomitable. The favoured route for England to win this Test was to get 350 runs ahead between tea and close of play on day four, and then hope for an inspired performance from one or more of the bowlers in the denouement.

To do that, and having begun the day 17 runs ahead, they really needed to score at between 3.7-4 runs an over, a rate far in excess of anything so far managed but not impossible.

Failing that they needed to rattle along at least at 3.4 runs an over, something that soon proved difficult when they lost Alastair Cook early on, caught at cover for 66 trying to force the pace.

Root is a busy player always looking to score off every ball. But while that side of his game was hampered by his sore back, he was further handicapped by the fact that Alex Hales and James Vince are both still trying to find their way in Test cricket, learning its tempos while simultaneously playing for their England careers.

Getting “stuck in” can be an admirable trait for batsmen to exhibit in certain circumstances but getting stuck, as both Hales and Vince appeared to do on the fourth morning, can hinder others like Root, who then feel they have to make all the running in keeping the scoreboard ticking over.

Alex Hayles deals with a difficult ball against Pakistan (Getty)

Root relishes tough circumstances but with Misbah-ul-Haq making run-scoring difficult by setting defensive fields, he was caught between taking increasingly greater risks and the wider responsibilities of staying put to marshal England’s innings.

With his back looking particularly debilitating in the morning session, just 63 runs were made for the loss of Cook and Hales. In normal circumstances, with Root compromised, Vince would have taken responsibility to be the lead batsman. But he has yet to score a Test fifty and is fighting for his career.

As such, he seemed frightened to play a shot, though perhaps that is not surprising given they have often brought about his downfall for England. Earlier, Hales had done something similar before realising that perhaps he had better get on and play some shots.

As soon as he did, he chose the wrong one and edged Mohammad Air to Younus Khan at second slip. Revivified by painkillers during the lunch break, Root immediately tried to increase the scoring rate. Shots, like the sweep, that had proved too painful earlier, were unleashed.

For Vince, though, it was more of the same, which meant a Boycottian strike-rate of below 35. Root’s quest was made more difficult when Yasir Shah, Pakistan’s wrist-spinner, went round the wicket (a negative ploy to save runs) and landed the ball in the bowlers’ footholes outside Root’s leg-stump.

Joe Root acknowledges the Birmingham crowd (Getty)

Had Vince showed the slightest hint of accelerating Root may have entered in to Yasir’s cat and mouse game with more subtlety.

But England needed runs as quickly as possible and he tried to sweep his way to them, a foolhardy ploy loaded with risk, as he discovered when he top-edged a simple catch to Mohammad Hafeez at short fine leg - a mug’s position set for a mug’s shot.

Root’s disappointed reaction revealed the frustration he felt and which in a team environment will remain probably unspoken. As one of several who plays all three formats for England, Root does not need any more on his plate than he already has with the expectation of being England’s best all-round batsman.

Vince then had the opportunity to play the alpha role but he fell to Amir utilising the second new ball for 42 which took 123 balls. Usually urgency is not an issue in Test cricket but it was in this circumstance.

Fortunately for England, Jonny Bairstow, who may be in even better form than Root, scored at a decent lick to give his team the option of an overnight declaration.

Coming in when England’s lead was 154, Bairstow shared a century partnership with Moeen Ali, revealing that scoring quickly was not so difficult providing two were doing it, a collusion Root was not really afforded during his time at the crease.