'Don't see anyone other than him' - Sachin Tendulkar feels no England batter looks like scoring big except Joe Root

Former Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar has expressed that the English batting line-up is going through a tough time and there is no batter who looks like getting a big hundred other than Joe Root. The batting unit of the England Test team has been a talking point for some time and the debate has been reignited after the side’s defeat in the second Test against India at Lord’s. 

India set a target of 272 runs in front of England on the fifth day with only 60 overs left in the match. England was bowled out in 51.5 overs with no batter staying long enough to have a match-turning impact. Root was once again the highest run-getter in the innings with his 33, but once he was gone it didn’t take India a lot of time to wrap up England for 120 all out. 

During an interaction after India’s win over England at Lord’s, Sachin Tendulkar had some words for the England batting unit. “This England team has had a history of collapses. I felt that is where they lost the grip and if you look at their batting, how many batters can one say, this guy can come out and get a big hundred? In this team, I don’t see anyone other than Joe Root,” Tendulkar was quoted as saying by My Khel.

Other than Root, I can’t find anyone and that’s the state of their batting today: Sachin Tendulkar

Tendulkar further noted that Root might have chosen to bowl on the first day because of how inconsistent England’s batting is. In all the four innings so far in this series, Root has been the highest run-getter for England. He made an unbeaten 180 in the first innings at Lord’s while the second-best contribution thereafter was a 57 by Jonny Bairstow. That incidentally remains the only 50+ by an English batter in this series apart from Root.  

“Teams of the past had a number of such players whether Alastair Cook, Michael Vaughan, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Jonathan Trott, Andrew Strauss. Yes they might get an odd hundred but how many can get big hundreds consistently? Other than Root, I can’t find anyone and that’s the state of their batting today. Maybe the reason for Root to opt for fielding first,” Tendulkar said.