Quiet Root keeps England focus ahead of rare milestone

Joe Root had just answered his first question when a cameraman in the background briefly halted proceedings to ask him to step closer to the microphones.

"Sorry, I do speak quite quietly," was the England star's response to the waiting press pack in Perth on Wednesday.

In many ways, it sums up how Root has gone about his cricket in recent years.

He is softly and politely spoken, having just minutes earlier greeted the media with a cheery "good morning". After almost a decade-and-a-half in the international spotlight on his way to becoming arguably England's greatest men's batter, Root is by no means shy in front of the cameras.

But it's clear he prefers to let his bat do most of the talking.

With 24 Test centuries and another four in ODIs since the start of 2021, during which he has averaged above 50 in both formats, Root has done exactly that.

After passing Ricky Ponting into second spot on the all-time Test run-scorers list behind Sachin Tendulkar earlier this year, it took the Yorkshireman just one question during an interview with Sky Sports to redirect his answer back to the ongoing match against India at Old Trafford.

Again in Perth ahead of his 200th one-day international appearance on Friday, Root, after mentioning what a "huge privilege" it was to play for England, quickly turned the discussion back to his team.

Even when quizzed on the claims in Usman Khawaja's book, Root somehow was able to bring his response around to England's planning for next year's ODI World Cup and their desire to be the fittest and most adaptable team there.

There's nice symmetry to the 35-year-old's milestone match, having also played his 100th ODI in Australia at the SCG in 2018.

"To be back here for the 200th game is obviously a huge privilege to get the opportunity to play for England for so long," he said.

"It's something that (you dream of) as a kid in the back garden or on the driveway playing little Test matches and international games against my brother and my friends with a tape ball and twigs in the ground for stumps. To then get the opportunity to come all around the world to play as many games as I have is a real privilege.

"I'm very proud of that, and hopefully we can continue our development as a team over the next little while ahead of what's a very exciting World Cup not far down the line."

Since the rise of a third format (T20) in the early 2000s, reaching the 200-game milestone is a feat that's become rarer in white-ball internationals.

No player has got there yet in men's T20Is, while India's Harmanpreet Kaur (213) is the only woman. In ODIs, Indian greats Virat Kohli (320) and Rohit Sharma (294) are miles ahead among the most capped active players. Tendulkar's record of 463 ODIs is unlikely to ever be surpassed.

Root will be just the third England man to notch 200 ODI appearances for his country after Jos Buttler (204) did against India earlier this year and their World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan (225).

As the middle format, it's perhaps no surprise Root said 50-over cricket had "adapted and evolved" so much since his debut in 2013.

"As a player, you've just got to keep evolving with it, and you've got to keep finding ways of understanding the rhythm of the game," he said.

"I've played alongside a number of different players in a number of different teams. Some very successful, some at the other end of the scale as well.

"And through that you gain a huge amount of experience and understand the different things that are required in different moments.

"I do feel like that will obviously always help me now for the rest of my career in terms of having that in the bank.

"One of the roles as a senior player in the team is to try and pass that experience down and try and speed up that process for the next guys coming in to make that transition into international cricket at the start of their journey as smooth as possible."

After veteran leg-spinner Adil Rashid on 165 caps, the next most experienced players in their squad to face Australia in three ODIs this month are skipper Harry Brook and Sam Curran (both 48 matches), highlighting the task ahead for Brendon McCullum's team as they build towards the 50-over World Cup in just under 12 months' time.

Whereas England were at the peak of their white-ball powers when Root played his 100th match in 2018 – winning the five-game series 4-1. Like Australia, their ODI group has been through a transition since the last World Cup in 2023.

With Buttler currently out for an extended period after hamstring surgery, Rashid in and out of the side depending on conditions and Archer having his own injury troubles in the years since, Root remains the constant from the team that lifted England to World Cup glory in 2019.

And it's been his steadying influence at No.3, averaging 68 in ODIs with four centuries since the start of last year, that's allowed the likes of Brook, Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Will Jacks and Jordon Cox – England's next generation of batters – to flourish.

Brook's side have won ODI series against Sri Lanka (twice) and India this year but after last month's reality check where they finished third in a tri-series in Pakistan, again featuring Sri Lanka, Root knows there's work to be done.

"We're a team that wants to be more adaptable," he said.

"We're quite young and inexperienced still in many ways, so the more experiences we have on different surfaces and situations, the more we'll learn and become a more rounded team.

"Our focus is all about what we do between now and the (2027) World Cup.

"There's going to be three different countries (South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia), with a multitude of different venues, that if we are going to challenge at that World Cup, we're going to have to be able to adapt our games to.

"We're not the most finished article; we're not an experienced team that's been together for three or four years.

"So, it's really important we make the most of the opportunities that we have ahead of us. I feel we've got all the right elements. If we can gain experience and learn quickly … then there's no reason why we can't be in a really good place going into that tournament."

Australia v England ODI & T20I Series 2026

First ODI: November 13, Perth Stadium, 2:30pm AEDT (D/N)

Second ODI: November 15, Adelaide Oval, 2:30pm AEDT (D/N)

Third ODI: November 18, Bellerive Oval, Hobart, 2:30pm AEDT (D/N)

Australia squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Mahli Beardman, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Jack Edwards, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Ollie Peake, Matthew Renshaw, Liam Scott, Adam Zampa.

England squad: Harry Brook (c), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jordan Cox, Henry Crocombe, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Joe Root

First T20I: November 21, MCG, 7:15pm AEDT

Second T20I: November 24, Gold Coast Stadium, 7:15pm AEDT

Third T20I: November 27, The Gabba, 7:15pm AEDT

Fourth T20I: November 29, SCG, 7:15pm AEDT

Fifth T20I: December 2, Manuka Oval, 7:15pm AEDT

Australia squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Mahli Beardman, Nikhil Chaudhary, Tim David, Joel Davies, Jack Edwards, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sam Harper, Spencer Johnson, Mitch Owen, Lachlan Shaw, Adam Zampa

England squad: Harry Brook (c), Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, James Coles, Jordan Cox, Henry Crocombe, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Aneurin Donald, Eddie Jack, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Thomas Rew, Phil Salt, Luke Wood.