Anderson backs 'superhuman' Root to go past Alastair Cook as England's highest run getter

England’s bowling spearhead James Anderson has tipped his skipper Joe Root to surpass the batting record of his former skipper Sir Alastair Cook in Tests. Joe Root had walked out to bat on the second afternoon of the second Test at Lord’s when Mohammed Siraj had inflicted back-to-back blows to England batting order.

Root defended the hat trick ball from Siraj with an immense sense of confidence and Anderson credited him for bringing a “calming effect” on the rest of the batting lineup.

Root has been the lone-man warrior for England with the bat in the ongoing year with five centuries. He has been phenomenal so far in the series against India with two centuries and one fifty from three innings and is yet to fail in the three innings that have gone by.

Crediting him for carrying the weight of England batting order, Anderson said that what Root has achieved in the last 12 months have been “nothing short of superhuman”.

“Every time he goes out there he is just class, and today he looked class from ball one. When you see your captain go out and play like that on a hat-trick ball, it does seem to have a really calming effect on the dressing room. so I’m sure there’s much more to come from him,” Anderson said.

“Joe’s been amazing through his career and this last 12 months in particular. With everything that we’ve been through with the pandemic and the pressures on this team, to be able to captain the side and perform the way he has been is nothing short of superhuman.”

Anderson himself has been rated with similar adjectives to what he has lavished Root with and been the go-to man for England with the ball. He has been to England for so many years with the ball what Root has been for them with the ball.

He took his 31st five-wicket haul in Tests in the first innings and stopped India from running away with the game. It was the seventh time he got his name imprinted on the Lord’s Honours Board and while his future is being widely discussed, he has expressed hope of returning to the Home of Cricket with one more go.

“Certainly the last few times I’ve come here you think: ‘Will this be my last time playing here? So hopefully it’s not my last time here, and hopefully, it’s not my last time on the honours board,” Anderson concluded.

Anderson’s presence in the side is huge for England’s fortunes in the series as they are already without Stuart Broad, Jofra Archer, Chris Woakes and Ben Stokes. However, he is unlikely to play all five matches against India.