England captain Joe Root is refusing to panic over an unusual run of LBW dismissals, insisting that nearly 15 years at Test level — and more than 14,000 runs — have taught him how to solve batting problems. But rival bowlers may have identified a tactical pattern they will keep attacking.
Joe Root has spent much of his career solving problems that would overwhelm lesser Test batsmen.
Now England’s captain faces another one.
Root has been dismissed leg before wicket nine times in his last 12 Test innings, including seven LBW dismissals during England’s home summer, an extraordinary sequence for one of the most accomplished batsmen of his generation.
Yet Root appears far less alarmed than everyone analysing him.
The 35-year-old essentially pointed to his career record as evidence that he has been through difficult technical spells before and knows how to emerge from them.
There is considerable weight behind that confidence.
Root now has 14,208 Test runs, making him England’s highest Test run-scorer and placing him second on the all-time list behind India great Sachin Tendulkar, who retired with 15,921. Root crossed 14,000 earlier this summer, becoming only the second player in Test history to reach the landmark.
But his recent numbers reveal why the LBW trend has suddenly become such a major talking point.
Root’s summer has been unusually quiet
Root has passed 50 only twice during England’s home summer and is averaging 29.44, well below his career Test average of around 50.
At Lord’s against Pakistan, the pattern became impossible to ignore.
Root made just four and 24 and was trapped LBW in both innings as England nevertheless powered to a 194-run victory and secured the Pakistan series with a match still to play.
The result gave England a 2-0 lead and delivered their first multi-match Test series victory since 2024, providing Root with an encouraging start to his second spell as full-time captain.
Yet while England are winning, opponents appear to be studying the way their captain is getting out.
And that is where the story becomes more interesting.
Have bowlers discovered a way to trap Joe Root?
Sky Sports analysts Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain have pointed to changes in how seam bowlers are attacking modern Test batsmen.
Instead of repeatedly moving the ball away and searching for an outside edge, bowlers are increasingly using the wobble seam to make deliveries move back towards the stumps.
That can create a particularly difficult problem for Root.
When a batsman prepares for a ball moving away, his front pad can move across towards the off side. If the next delivery then seams back sharply, the pad — rather than the bat — can suddenly become the first point of contact.
Sky’s analysis also highlighted another tactic: wicketkeepers standing closer to the stumps against medium-fast bowlers such as Pakistan’s Mohammad Abbas. That can discourage a batsman from moving out of his crease and may increase the chance of an LBW decision.
The dilemma is not easily fixed.
If Root adjusts too aggressively to protect himself from LBW, he could make himself more vulnerable to deliveries moving the other way and taking his outside edge.
That means what looks like a simple weakness on a scorecard could actually be the result of a far more complicated tactical battle.
Root says conditions matter too
Root has also argued that England’s batting conditions this summer deserve consideration.
He noted that the ball has moved substantially and suggested the Dukes balls being used this season have felt different, including what he believed could be a change involving the lacquer.
Importantly, Root acknowledged that he did not have evidence proving the ball itself had changed.
He also pointed out that several of his recent LBW dismissals have involved marginal umpire’s-call decisions — decisions which could easily have gone the other way without dramatically changing his technique or performance.
The broader statistics support at least part of his argument: batsmen have faced unusually challenging movement during England’s home season, while Sky’s analysis noted the elevated number of LBW and bowled dismissals.
For Root, the solution appears to be adjustment rather than reinvention.
The bigger issue may be what happens next
England’s series victory has prevented Root’s batting slump from becoming a team crisis.
Their bowlers have been dominant.
Ollie Robinson took eight wickets in the second Test at Lord’s, while England’s pace attack demolished Pakistan for 110 in their first innings before eventually sealing the match by 194 runs.
England now head towards the third Test at Edgbaston beginning September 9 with the series already secured.
That could give Root the breathing room he needs.
But opponents will have noticed what Pakistan and New Zealand have been able to do. If the wobble-seam-and-LBW strategy continues working, England’s future opponents are unlikely to abandon it simply because Root’s career statistics are extraordinary.
That makes the next stage fascinating.
Root has built one of Test cricket’s greatest batting careers by constantly adapting. His 14,208 runs are evidence of that.
But cricket is a sport in which even the greatest players are continually given new problems to solve.
And after nine LBWs in 12 innings, bowlers may finally believe they have found one worth testing again and again.
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