Joe Root is using his bat as a rapier, says Geoffrey Boycott

NEW DELHI: Former

England

opener

Geoffrey Boycott

praised seasoned batter Joe Root's technical finesse and precision in batting, comparing his style to a rapier.
Boycott's comments come after Root surpassed Alastair Cook to become England's all-time leading run-scorer in

Test cricket

, following a magnificent 262 in the team's innings-and-47-run victory over Pakistan at

Multan

. This innings not only secured the win but also ensured that Root achieved over 1,000 Test runs in a calendar year for the third consecutive time.
Root's batting style, known for its technical finesse and grace, seems to reflect a swordsman's control, slicing through opposition bowling attacks with skill and timing.

Boycott's comparison to a rapier highlights Root's ability to dissect the field and maneuver the ball with pinpoint accuracy.
“Root is always very technically correct and is enjoying the best years of his career. He is using his bat as a rapier, slicing and piercing the gaps. It’s a slow way of hurting bowlers but it wears them down to the point where they realise they are bowling at a brick wall. They start to feel they are never going to get him out and that is when a dispirited hopelessness sets in,” Boycott wrote in his column for The Telegraph on Sunday.

“It was a very flat pitch in Multan with no pace, bounce and very little movement. We would all have liked a bat on it, even at my age. But that is not to take anything away from England. Their batting was magnificent. Joe Root and Harry Brook, using different styles, scored at a great tempo without making mistakes. They didn’t give their wicket away like the Pakistan batsmen.”
Boycott also reminisced about the first time he saw Harry Brook, who recently made a sensational 317 to become England’s sixth triple centurion in Test cricket. Brook's incredible innings, combined with Joe Root's brilliance, led to a record-breaking partnership of 454 runs, now the highest stand for England in Test matches. This monumental effort surpassed the previous record of 411 runs set by Peter May and Colin Cowdrey against the West Indies in 1957, further solidifying Root and Brook's place in English cricket history.

“The first time I saw Brook I felt there was a bit of Kevin Pietersen or Denis Compton about him. He looked like a fairly orthodox batsman who was straining at the leash, waiting to break free. You can tell his instinct is to attack the bowlers and put them to the sword. His only thought is 'where can I hit it?'.
“He doesn’t think about footwork or technique and just lets his instinct and imagination take over. He sometimes pre-meditates a shot or invents a stroke or just simply gives it a smack. When he is on the charge it is soul destroying for bowlers because they run in thinking “where is Harry going to hit me this time” instead of concentrating on where they are going to bowl the ball. They are two different types of batsmen but so exciting to watch,” added Boycott.