Stats: A rare duck for England captain Joe Root in Test cricket

Joe Root came into the Test series having scored at least one fifty-plus score in all 11 Test matches he played against India till then. The streak extended to 12 matches during the first Test in Birmingham where the England captain scored 80 in the first innings before he got run out. Root’s streak came to an end against India as he failed to get past 20 in five consecutive innings before he bounced back with a 48-run knock in the 2nd innings of the Southampton Test before getting run out once again.

The England skipper’s hopes to end the lean patch with a big score in the final Test at The Oval didn’t go well as he bagged a three-ball duck. Joe Root walked out to bat at 133/2 after Alastair Cook got out scoring 71. Root failed to capitalize on the start provided by their top three for the first time in the series as a sharp in-swinger from Jasprit Bumrah trapped him in front. A desperate review from Root couldn’t save him as the ball tracker showed three reds.

Ducks by England captains against India in Test cricket:

Thus, Joe Root became only the 4th England captain to bag a duck in Test cricket against India. Though the first ever England-India match was played in 1932, it took 40 years for India to dismiss their opposition skipper for nought. Tony Lewis got out for a duck in the Delhi Test on 1972/73 tour of India and bagged one more in the Chennai Test on that tour. Alec Stewart batted 22 minutes before getting out for a duck in the Chennai Test match during the 1993 tour.

The last England skipper to bag a Test duck against India was Mike Atherton way back in 1996 at the Lord’s also on the opening day. 21 ducks have been recorded by 11 Indian captains in the Test matches against England while only five ducks have been recorded by the four England captains against India thus far. Root is also the first England captain since Michael Vaughan in 2005 to bag a duck in Test cricket while batting at No.4.

Ducks by England captains in Test cricket while batting at No.4:

(Stats as on September 7, 2018)