World T20: England's Joe Root waved his magic wand and proved he is a batsman for the ages

From the beginning it was clear that England were on to something. In Bombay on Friday night, Joe Root simply reconfirmed that he is a batsman for the ages, of any age.

His magisterial innings of 83 from 44 balls in the record pursuit of 230 to defeat South Africa defied the conventions of Twenty20, built as it was on precision, touch, delicacy. By the time he was caught at deep mid-wicket attempting to pull his fifth six, England were all but home.

Their campaign in the World T20 is revived. Anything, they feel, is possible now.

As soon as he departed, the encomiums were launched. They had to be, because the evidence was so abundant: here was a great player in his pomp, and the form of the game mattered not a jot. He is one of those who plays sport on a different plane, and sometimes it might as well be another planet. With a bat in his hand, Root is waving a magic wand.

It was in another Indian city where it all started with England. Root was hardly supposed to play in Nagpur in December 2012, where the tourists were defending an improbable but deserved 2-1 lead in the Test series.

He had gone on the trip seemingly as one of two candidates for the second opening batting berth. Nick Compton was eventually preferred, and it seemed that Root’s destiny would be to net and carry drinks.

But in the week before the final Test he was asked to play for the England Performance Programme XI, who were shadowing the senior team in Bombay. Root’s 166 against the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy XI was of such class that the tour management were convinced they ought to reconfigure their side to preserve their lead. Root batted at No 6, and wandered out to bat in that now familiar slow, bow-legged way, as if he were John Wayne in The Quiet Man.

England were 119 for 4 (which shortly became 139 for 5). Root caressed his first ball through the covers for three and clipped his 10th wide of square leg for four.

Having announced himself, he got down to the business of digging England out of a hole, spending nearly five hours over his 73, which contained only four fours.

By Friday night 500 miles to the west, now 25, he had become one of the very best players in the world. Nasser Hussain, the most astute of pundits could hardly contain his feelings.

“He is the best England batsman across all forms of cricket ever,” Hussain said on Sky. “I know that is a big comment, but can you name another batsman who could do what he does as well as him? He is our best player, a star, and will only get better – these are the best years of his life.”

Root was a richly gifted boy in Sheffield who could hardly hit the ball off the square. He is still not one of the game’s power hitters, but he has compensated for this with timing, placement and chutzpah. His strike rate in T20, for instance, is 140.83 runs per 100 balls, ahead, for example, of the 136.52 of Jos Buttler, he of the rapid hands (though slightly behind Kevin Pietersen’s 141.52).

He tends to stand deep in the crease and wait, any difficulty this might present in going forward long since overcome. The method apart, Root also has nerves of steel and a mightily competitive edge. He was in the Sheffield Collegiate second XI at the age of 12, played for the first team at 15 and was in all Yorkshire’s age-group sides.

When he was taken on by Yorkshire, Root played against Collegiate in the Yorkshire Premier League for the county’s academy. He amply demonstrated the ruthless component that is essential in all who aspire to greatness by not only scoring 51 but taking 5 for 40 with his off-spin, the wickets including those of his father, Matt, and his brother, Billy.

There was one blip in his England career when, like the rest of the team, he was split asunder in Australia in 2013. Dropped from the final Test, the ultimate humiliation, he went back home to regroup and reassess the requirements of batting in the big time.

The outcome has been extraordinary. He has been England’s leading scorer in Test cricket, with 22 scores above 50, including seven hundreds, in his 43 innings, and in one-day cricket, where 42 innings have brought 15 scores above 50, with eight hundreds.

Twenty20 has been less productive because he has frequently been rested (he missed the last World T20 because of injury), but his average of 39 and strike rate compare with anyone. He is scoring almost 18 per cent of England’s Test runs, 23 per cent of their one-day runs and now 17 per cent of their T20 runs.

He is the complete batsman, a consummate team man, and while the game will have a word or two to say yet, this is his time and he is to be cherished.