Root leads England past New Zealand in 1st Test

LONDON (AP) — Former captain Joe Root gave his successor Ben Stokes the perfect start to his reign at Lord’s, carrying England to victory with a match-winning century to seal the first test against New Zealand on Sunday.

Root walked away as skipper in April after five years and a record 64 games in charge but remains the team’s most reliable performer and produced a knock of 115 not out to set up a five-wicket victory.
In a decisive partnership with Ben Foakes, who made an unbeaten 32 in a stand of 120, Root shepherded the home side to a stiff chase of 277 with his first fourth-innings hundred.
By doing so Root became just the second Englishman to reach 10,000 test runs — following in the footsteps of his own predecessor as captain, Alastair Cook. The symmetry of their achievements does not end there, with both men exactly 31 years and 157 days old when they crossed the threshold.
It was Root’s 26th century, the same as West Indies great Sir Garfield Sobers, but he will be even more satisfied by its importance to the team.

“It had become a very unhealthy relationship to be honest, the captaincy and me,” Root said. “It started to really take a bad toll on my own personal health. I couldn’t leave it at the ground anymore, it was coming home.”

Root said he was there to “help England win test matches and be a side people enjoy watching and can be proud of.”

England was marginal favorite as it resumed on 216-5, with 61 runs still needed and five wickets in hand, but the task still looked a taxing one.

With thick, grey clouds overhead and the floodlights glaring from the first ball, conditions were far from ideal for batting. A fragile tail, featuring at least three natural number 11s, also cranked up the responsibility on the overnight pairing of Root and Foakes.

But a game that has see-sawed back and forth with a series of twists along the way was put to bed in unusually serene fashion.

Root was the key man and he was reliably measured as he converted an unbeaten 77 in understated fashion. However, Foakes deserves huge credit for the way he held up his end.