Are we witnessing the fall of the 'Fab Four', Joe Root's rise says otherwise

Captaincy relieved Joe Root batted his way to a remarkable Test run-chase against the visiting New Zealanders at Lord’s. The 31-year-old stroked 115* to chart his 26th Test ton, helping England chase down 277 under tough Day 4 conditions in the first Test. 

The final Test of the series saw another masterclass as the batter played a vital knock of 86 runs alongside Bairstow who kept playing the aggressor.

Root’s latest century continues his year-long fine run with the bat, even though his English leadership had become a much-debated topic before all-rounder Ben Stokes took over the role. 

Back in March, the Yorkshire cricketer compiled 289 runs against the West Indies, including two triple-figure scores in his side’s 0-1 defeat in the Caribbean.

Meanwhile in Australia, the Three Lions conceded the Ashes via a 0-4 hammering back in January. The then English skipper, however, was the leading run-getter of his side. Even in the shortened home series against India last year, Root hammered 564 runs across four Tests with three blazing tons.  

While once hailed at the bottom of the Fab 4, still an achievement, this baby-faced English lad has certainly rose his way to the top, hopping over other candidates Virat Kohli, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson.

Joe Root rules contemporary batting illuminati with an iron fist

The latest entrants in Fab 4 were inducted about half-a-decade ago, following the consistent batting governance of India’s Virat Kohli, Australia’s Steve Smith, New Zealand’s Kane Williamson’s and England’s Joe Root. Remarkably, all four have also captained their national sides across all formats at some stage.  

However, the likes of Kohli and Root had both relinquished their captaincy earlier this year while Smith left his role following 2018’s Sandpaper Gate. 

Williamson remains the only Fab 4 captain today, and even successful at it, leading the Black Caps to World Test Championship victory last year and into the finals of the T20 World Cup 2021.

Leadership jobs aside, when it comes to batting alone, the English representative was often placed at the lowest of the four by cricketing pundits the world over. But following his steady run-blazing efforts over the course of time, Root now leads the elite pack. 

During his match-winning knock against the Black Caps, he even became the first out of the four specialist batters to scale the 10,000-run mark in Tests.

Moreover, Root’s latest century was the 27th of his career and his 10th since the start of 2021. During the same time period, the likes of Kohli, Smith and Williamson hardly made any progression in their respective careers, scoring just 1 ton between them.

The Englishmen’s rise in Test cricket have also earned him comparison with batting great Sachin Tendulkar. Former Australian skipper Mark Taylor even claimed that Root could well break Tendulkar’s record Test tally of 15,921 runs.

Here is a look at how the entire Fab 4 have fared before and after 2021:

Fab 4 Test centuries at 2021 start:

1. Virat Kohli - 27.

2. Steven Smith - 26.

3. Kane Williamson - 24.

4. Joe Root - 17.

Fab 4 Test centuries now:

1. Kohli - 27.

2. Smith - 27.

3. Root - 27.

4. Williamson - 24