The elegant art of cricket

For those unfortunate not to appreciate cricket you will have missed the most perfect exhibition of graceful batting I think I have ever seen. Joe Root, captain of the England Test cricket team and coming in at Number 4 in the first Test Match against India at the Madras cricket club in dry hot hot heat. By the end of the day he was still there, scoring a century - that's 100 runs for the uninitiated - in his 100th Test Match innings. Such perfection. He never looked in trouble. I have always been a fan of David Gower, a former England captain but now well retired from cricket, whose grace and elegance as a batsman was awesome to watch. But sometimes he was so laid back you were always slightly on edge, fearing he would snick a ball to the slip fielders just behind him. With Root today in Madras there were no such fears at all. He just played every ball with confidence and style and grace whether it was a fast bowler the other end or a spin bowler. The only time his elegance failed him was when he reached forward to sweep away a ball over the boundary for six and then fell down with cramp agony. Well he had been batting in the heat for hours. The nicest touch was when the India captain. Virat Kohli, himself a master batsman, came forward and grabbed Root's foot to help ease the cramp. What a gentleman. Root will continue batting tomorrow on Day Two and I have every confidence he will go on to score a double century, just like he did in Sri Lanka three weeks ago. What a star.