England's Joe Root has described the new trophy up for grabs in the three-Test series against New Zealand, which honours the lives and careers of countryman Graham Thorpe and Kiwi Martin Crowe, as “amazing”.
Starting at Christchurch's Hagley Oval on Thursday, the two teams will compete for the Crowe-Thorpe Trophy which was fashioned by craftsman David Ngawati out of wood taken from bats belonging to the pair.
Thorpe died earlier this year after a battle with depression. Crowe, considered one of the finest batters to have represented New Zealand, died in 2016 due to cancer.
The duo scored 33 Test centuries between them and have now been remembered in a collaboration between the England and Wales Cricket Board and New Zealand Cricket.
“It’s amazing – a really nice way to celebrate two greats of each nation,” Root said today. “I spent a lot of time with Thorpey… the influence he had on my career is unrivalled, really.
“It’s nice to have something to play for in his name and obviously Crowey as well.”
Root, a former England captain who is about to play his 150th Test, goes into the series as the world’s No.1 Test batter.
Asked today what it meant to be playing in a milestone Test, he said: “It means a lot fielding over the course of that time.
“It’s just another game of cricket for me and a chance to score some runs and hopefully help us win a Test.
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“New Zealand is flying high obviously off the back of a three-nil win in India. But that makes it even more of a mouth-watering opportunity for us over here against a team that’s got a great record in these conditions.
“It’s an exciting prospect to be playing how we want to play and seeing if we can manage the conditions better than them.”
Root, 33, who has scored 12,754 Test runs and has an average of 51.01 (Kane Williamson, 34, has played in far fewer Tests and has an average of 54.48), was described as being a “rung below” the likes of Williamson, Australian Steve Smith and India’s Virat Kohli by former Australia coach and now commentator Darren Lehmann recently.
“My job is to score runs, right? His job is to give his opinion and talk on the radio,” Root said.
“I’ll do my job and he can do his job. He’s completely entitled to say what he wants. I’ve not spoken to him for a while but, like I said, he’s got a job to do. That’s his right.”
Root was not surprisingly happier to talk about touring New Zealand – England were last here early last year when they drew the series 1-1 after a nailbiting second Test win by New Zealand in Wellington.
Asked about the secret behind his longevity in the game, Root said: “Just trying to find the enjoyment factor in everything. As I mentioned - in the different conditions and the challenges they pose, but it’s turning up to training and finding something that keeps you going.
“It’s very easy to meander along and be quite happy with where you’re at. I don’t think you can do that in international cricket any more. There’s so much information on you as a player out there now that you get worked out very quickly if you stand still.
“There’s no better feeling than you being sat at the end of a hard five-day Test match having won and being able to enjoy a drink with your teammates… and the opposition as well. That’s one thing about why we enjoy playing New Zealand as well. They’re a great set of lads who play the game in a really good way.”
For England, Warwickshire batter Jacob Bethell will make his Test debut and is set to bat at number three.
Ollie Pope will keep wicket in the absence of Jordan Cox, who fractured his right thumb during practice last weekend in Queenstown, and will bat at six.
New Zealand will likely name their team on Thursday morning.
England's XI for the first Test:
1. Zak Crawley, 2. Ben Duckett, 3. Jacob Bethell, 4. Joe Root, 5. Harry Brook, 6. Ollie Pope (WK), 7. Ben Stokes (C), 8. Chris Woakes, 9. Gus Atkinson, 10. Brydon Carse, 11. Shoaib Bashir.
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